From the Bellingham Herald:
Move over, booze: 2016 is a milestone year for sales of pot in state
Marijuana sales passed a quiet milestone in Washington state in the first three months of 2016.
For the first time, residents and visitors as a whole spent more on cannabis products than on hard alcohol, based on an analysis of purchase and tax records from two state agencies.
In the first quarter of 2016, people spent $19.1 million more on marijuana than spirits, which includes the cost of the products and its associated taxes. By the second quarter, that gap increased to $52.3 million. Those amounts include taxes levied by the state on those products. Spirits sales do not include wine and beer. Marijuana sales include all cannabis products but not paraphernalia.
Makes a lot of sense - pot is more of a social lubricant than hard spirits. I wonder what the numbers would be if we subtracted restaurant spirit sales. Also, pot sales have not canibilized spirit sales:
Ozgo said spirits retailers have not seen a drop in sales volume since marijuana was legalized.
“In fact, the growth rate is at or equal to the national average over the last couple of years,” in Washington, he said. In other states with legal weed, “really it’s been a non-issue.”
The pot store in our little hamlet is doing a great business - lots of traffic. Good people too.
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