The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in sales of all kinds of vices, but marijuana purchases increased more than others, a new study suggests. Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada gathered sales data of marijuana and alcohol in their city to find if there was a pandemic-related increase in drug sales. They found that, at the start of the pandemic, there was a surge in sales as much stockpiled marijuana and alcohol. Marijuana sales increased much more, though, jumping nearly 25 percent, with alcohol sales only rising by five percent. Researchers found that marijuana sales increased by 25% in Hamilton during the pandemic, and even continued to rise after an initial stockpiling surge After the initial surge of purchases at the start of the pandemic, alcohol sales normalized. In total, sales increased by around 5% ‘These results offer one of the first national perspectives on changes in alcohol and cannabis use during the pandemic,’ Dr James MacKillop, co-author of the study and director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at McMaster, said in a statement.
Mansur Shaheen U.S., Daily Mail, 11/04/2021 11:00:00