SF marijuana dispensaries see big shift to edibles amid coronavirus

When San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order was announced on March 16, many city residents ran to the grocery store to stock up on things like canned goods and toilet paper.

Other residents went straight to their local dispensary. “The day of shelter in place was the busiest day we’ve ever had,” said Eliot Dobris, a spokesperson for the Apothecarium, a dispensary with three S.F. locations. “We’ve never had longer lines than that, including 4/20 and the first days of recreational sales in the state ever. Stores were just absolutely slammed.”

Dobris said people were also buying in larger quantities than normal, though things have finally started to stabilize a bit.

While customers are purchasing with regularity, their buying habits may be changing, at least in the short term. Cannabis delivery company Eaze said that since March 9, the company has seen sales of edibles rise from 15% to 30%, while the sale of the plant itself has decreased from 25% to 17%.

Vape sales have also slid from 33% to 25%.

This could be due to the fact that inhaling smoke into the lungs can increase a person’s risk of severe coronavirus. Though there have been no studies directly linking cannabis smoking to coronavirus, the disease can cause respiratory illness, which smoking or vaping can aggravate. [Read more at SF Gate]