Stimulus Checks, the Unofficial Federal Aid for Colorado Weed Shops

The marijuana industry won’t receive any official aid from federal business bailout packages, but it still received an assist from the first round of stimulus payments, which came just in time for the plant’s biggest holiday.

Colorado’s marijuana dispensaries reported significantly higher sales this week, the same week that many Americans started receiving $1,200 payments that are part of a federal stimulus package to limit the economic impact of coronavirus. Long lines — appearing even longer because of social distancing measures — were spotted at multiple pot shops around Denver on April 14 and 15, and references to stimulus checks and jokes about the feds paying for weed were commonplace in those lines.

According to dispensary ordering platform I Heart Jane, 1,300-plus dispensaries across the country saw an average 48 percent increase in sales dollars on April 15 compared to an average weekday. According to Flowhub, another dispensary data tracker, recreational sales in Colorado were up 57 percent and medical marijuana sales up 39 percent on April 15 compared to the prior Wednesday.

“We were joking that this was just in time for Uncle Sam to participate in 4/20,” says Lindsey Mintz, co-owner of the Smokin Gun Apothecary in Glendale. “We expected the rush once we heard the [payments] were about to get released.” [Read More @ Westword]