With over 1 million confirmed cases in over 200 countries around the world, corona virus is a full-blown global pandemic that has brought a lot of things to their knees. Although no one knows when the pandemic will end, we will likely witness a recession for months after this COVID-19 crisis. While lots of industries will definitely be affected, cannabis is proving to be recession-proof.

Cannabis industry during the crisis

A lot of countries around the world are currently observing a sit-at-home order. As a result of this, the majority of stores and companies have been forced to close down. Only essential businesses are still allowed to open and operate. Hence, the customers of non-essential businesses can no longer use their services and products as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As it stands today, marijuana stores are still open and, as such, consumers may be able to get their daily supplies of cannabis even during this crisis. Also, the demand for cannabis can be compared to what is usually experienced with alcohol.

Generally, a lot of marijuana consumers use it during celebrations. Similarly, in bad times like the coronavirus pandemic, they often use cannabis to get high and forget their challenges for some periods. Therefore, it is safe to assume that cannabis is a recession-proof as the demand for it will not be affected by the economic meltdown that is currently going on as well as the economic downtown that is bound to happen after the pandemic.

What are the states doing about cannabis dispensaries during coronavirus pandemic?

While the world is still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, there have been lots of changes in various policies globally. Given this, many states in the US are taking actions to address the issues related to the sales of marijuana. In March 2020, the Department of Public Health in California issued an order as it deemed that cannabis dispensaries are essential critical infrastructure workers.

Therefore, cannabis dispensaries are exempted from observing the stay-at-home order so that they can sell cannabis to their customers. In California, people can still get cannabis for medical and recreational purposes during this ongoing coronavirus issue. However, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is paramount for them to avoid congregating their consumers as well as adopt social distancing and other important measures.

Apart from California, other states in the country are also adopting different strategies to ensure that people can get cannabis without exposing themselves to the disease. These states have ruled that the compulsory state-at-home order should not force the cannabis dispensaries to shut down; hence, they should still offer marijuana to customers, especially those using it for medical purposes. In other words, most recreational consumers may not be able to get marijuana in some states. A few states enable doctors to recommend medical cannabis for their patients through telemedicine. Some of these states include Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, and Ohio.

Based on what is being experienced during this pandemic, cannabis is showing the potential to be recession-proof. However, we still have to keep an eye on the things that will happen over the next few months.