For many decades cannabis essentially came in only two forms – cannabis flower and cannabis hashish. If you were lucky then you perhaps had a friend or family member that could make topicals and/or edibles at home.
These days, if you live in North America where legal cannabis products are bought and sold, then you know firsthand how much variety exists at most licensed outlets.
Cannabis products come in all shapes, sizes, and types in those areas, from cannabis-infused sodas to cannabis-infused cotton candy and just about anything else that the mind can imagine.
Yet, despite the exponential growth in cannabis product options, the old-fashioned form of cannabis flower still reigns supreme in North America’s legal markets according to a recent study. Below is more information about it via a NORML news release:
Santa Monica, CA: Cannabis consumers in the United States and Canada predominantly consume marijuana flower instead other product formulations, according to data published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.
Investigators affiliated with the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in California and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada assessed cannabis consumption patterns in the US and in Canada in a cohort of more than 40,000 subjects.
Consistent with prior surveys, they reported, “Dried flower was the most commonly used product” among consumers – regardless of whether those consumers patronized either the licit or illicit marketplace.
However, investigators acknowledged that the popularity of other formulations of cannabis, particularly vape oils and edibles, had increased in recent years – especially in markets where cannabis products are legally available from licensed retailers.
Authors concluded: “The current study provides one of the most comprehensive assessments of cannabis consumption at the population level in Canada and the US to date. The findings highlight the rapidly evolving nature of the cannabis product market, including notable shifts in the types of cannabis products used by consumers. … Although dried flower continues to dominate the market, it has begun declining with a notable shift towards increasing popularity of processed cannabis products.”
Full text of the study, “Trends in the use of cannabis products in Canada and the USA, 2018 – 2020: Findings from the International Cannabis Policy Study,” appears in the International Journal of Drug Policy.
This article first appeared on Internationalcbc.com and is syndicated here with special permission.
