Here’s Why Your Thanksgiving May Have Seemed More Stony Than Usual This Year

The day after Thanksgiving Day, a banner day for sales in every retail sector, has a name in the cannabis industry. It’s not Black Friday—it’s Green Friday, of course.

Friday is already a strong day for cannabis sales. It’s the end of the week, it’s payday, it’s the name of a cannabis-heavy movie franchise. More likely than not, the busiest time of week at the local dispensary will be Friday afternoon.

But in Washington, marijuana sales spike 13 percent higher than on a normal Friday on the day after Thanksgiving, according to Bloomberg News. And in Denver, delivery software firm Baker sees their orders “double”—and expects an even bigger workload this year, as dispensaries, delivery services and other retailers of legal cannabis prepare to greet Black Friday with their own parade of promotions.

Black Friday, however is just the dessert serving after the main meal. Apparently, America needs a spliff to even start thinking about cooking the holiday meal—let alone confronting the kitchen mess or the fridge full of leftovers.

An even bigger day for sales is the day before Thanksgiving—hereafter dubbed “Weed Wednesday,” according to Seattle-based analytics firm Headset.

Sales across the board are up 27 percent on the day before Thanksgiving, with big numbers from edibles and beverage sales providing the difference, Bloomberg found.

Headset offered two theories to explain this trend, which appears to be constant across the country where marijuana can be legally bought in a store: Either people are buying cookies and other treats that are easy to share, or they’re stocking up on inconspicuous, smoke-free delivery mechanisms in order to deal with, ah, their more challenging relatives.

“Sometimes, it’s a little stressful to see family,” said Amanda Gonzalez, CEO of Denver dispensary Kaya Cannabis, in comments to Bloomberg. “In the same way some people might pick up a bottle of wine, some people are looking to pick up recreational cannabis.”

“Maybe [cannabis will] make your slightly racist uncle a little bit more tolerable,” Gonzalez continued.

It can’t hurt to try. And, based on the data, millions of people are getting through Thanksgiving Day with a little help from THC.