Amid Vapes, Dabs, Edibles and Tinctures, Joints Still Rule

While walking home the other night, the sweet smell of weed came wafting from a small group of 20-somethings about a half-block in front of me. When I finally caught up to them, I was pleasantly surprised to see them passing around a nicely rolled joint.

I’d recently wondered if smoking joints had become an outdated throwback to my generation when the only variation on the theme was a water pipe and, even then, only on special occasions.

Checking on whether pot consumers had indeed turned to non-smoked products and methods— such as vaping, dabbing, edibles, tinctures and oils—I was again pleasantly surprised to find data had been gathered by a new cannabis business intelligence platform called Headset.

According to Headset’s report, published in Alternet, total pot sales grew from nearly $40 million in April to just over $50 million in May, with increased bud sales accounting for 22 percent of that amount, while vape pens and concentrates accounted for 42 percent.

This data would suggest that pot users are turning to non-smoked products, which would be true to a certain extent.

However, the report’s sales analysis showed that pure weed still accounts for more than half of all marijuana sales, across the board at 55 percent, with monthly increases in sales over the whole year.

Widespread legalization and growing social acceptance of pot smoking has meant that new demographics from all walks of life are joining in on the fun.

With the U.S., in the past five decades, having wisely become anti-tobacco, many pot smokers prefer not to be around any smoke and therefore welcome the opportunity to get high in a smoke-free fashion.

But, contrary to a recent Quartz article cited by Alternet, which concluded that no one smokes their weed anymore, it turns out the majority of folks still enjoy lighting up a nice, old fashioned doobie.

So, ask your elders how to roll, then follow smoking etiquette and “don’t bogart that joint, my friend.”