Stat Of The Week: A Banner Night For Weed And Booze

While this hasn’t been the most enjoyable week for many, select businesses have thrived amid the reporting of shifting election results.

According to the Los Angeles Times, purveyors of weed, pizza, and booze were “the real election night winners” of 2020:

On-demand alcohol delivery service Drizly said sales were 68% higher than on the previous four Tuesdays, on average. Sales in Washington, D.C., rose 133%; in New York City, 110%; and in L.A., 35%. In blue states where Drizly operates, sales were up 75% compared with the previous four Tuesdays; in red states, they were up 33%.”

Meanwhile, the weed delivery company Eaze saw an 18% increase compared with the prior Tuesday, the Times reported, and area pizza restaurants noted huge increases and record-breaking sales. 

Bumps in business aside, state legalization measures made 2020 a historic election for the weed industry, which swept initiatives in New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, and Mississippi.

As Law360 noted, the ballot victories bring the total number of states legalizing recreational cannabis to 15, with South Dakota becoming the first state to go directly from prohibition to adult-use legalization without the interim step of legalization for medical use and Mississippi voters approving medical marijuana.  

Per Law360:

The biggest win for advocates was the Garden State, which became the first mid-Atlantic state to fully legalize marijuana for adult use. Voters’ approval of Public Question 1 puts pressure on New York and other states in the densely populated region to follow suit.”

In a bummer for New Jersey residents, though, the state attorney general issued guidance on Wednesday noting that possessing weed outside of the New Jersey medical marijuana program is illegal under state law for now.

Real Election Night Winners: Sellers of Pizza, Booze and Weed [Los Angeles Times]
New Jersey, Ariz. Legalize Pot In Ballot Measure Sweep [Law360]
Pot’s Ballot Victories Bode Well For Reform’s Future [Law360]