Eaze finds easier cannabis access linked to decreased booze & pills usage

A new report from a California cannabis delivery startup suggests that more and more people are turning to pot at the end of the workday rather than the bottle.

While many people typically open a bottle of wine or pour themselves a stiff drink at around 7 p.m. after returning home from work, Eaze researchers discovered that daily orders for medical cannabis spiked at around the same time.

With recreational use already legal and a much wider retail market coming next year, California has perhaps the biggest cannabis market in the world. But because no central marijuana database or strict regulation exists yet, a look at the three-year-old tech company’s 2016 State of Cannabis report provides some insight into the buying habits of California’s medical marijuana patients.

The company looked at its data from more than 250,000 clients across the state, as well as more than 5,000 survey responses, and found that 82 percent of people pointed to newly easy access to pot as the reason they drank less booze.

Approximately 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes in the U.S. each year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Out of the Californians surveyed, roughly 11 percent said they’ve quit drinking altogether because of cannabis.

The research also showed that 95 percent of medical marijuana consumers who’ve turned to opioids for pain management reported taking fewer pills thanks to pot.

Eaze also found that people who reported drinking less alcohol and consuming more cannabis are more far likely to order vapour cartridges, while those who used to rely on painkillers will probably order the traditional cannabis buds or flowers. The report also reveals California’s most popular strains for 2016, as well as medical marijuana’s popularity by gender, generation, and location. The app’s bestseller last year was Gorilla Glue #4, followed by Jack Herer, Bubba Kush and likely soon-to-be-renamed Girl Scout Cookies.

 

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