A new survey shared exclusively by MEDCAN24 shows that two thirds of marijuana consumers have decided to cut back on their cannabis purchases due to the inflationary nature of the overall economy.
The survey conducted by the cannabis telehealth company NuggMD provides another way to measure inflation.
When asked about recent marijuana purchases, 66 percent said that they were spending less because the cost of living in Canada continues to rise. Inflation is not affecting cannabis expenditures for 34 percent respondents.
There’s no way to tell if this is due to the possible price increases of marijuana, the general economy or a combination of both.
Andrew Graham, NuggMD’s head of communication, stated that “our poll established that inflation has hit cannabis consumers hard. This should not come as a surprise.” Recent Pew polling shows that the percentage of U.S. adult who are concerned about affordability in healthcare has risen by 10 points since last year. In June of last year, the medical inflation rate began to grow faster than general inflation rates for the first since 2021.
He said that rising cannabis costs make it more difficult for Americans to get the wellness and health care they require. Cannabis consumers can reduce their costs in a simple way.
He added that Congress must end the IRS Code 280E. This code causes cannabis businesses pay an effective rate of tax up to 80%. The policy solution, if lawmakers do not act on the 280E code, could include shifting the costs to the consumers. This would be done by requiring that insurance policies cover medical cannabis to treat certain conditions.
280E, the IRS code that prohibits federal tax deductions for businesses working with Schedule I and Schedule II drug schedules. In the absence of congressional action stakeholders hope to resolve the issue through an ongoing administration process that was initiated by the Biden Administration, which would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
The process was temporarily delayed. Certain GOP legislators are trying to maintain the IRS policy, even if marijuana was rescheduled. Recent bills have been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
NuggMD interviewed 518 marijuana customers between February 27 and March 2 with an error margin of +/-4,3 percentage points.
NuggMD’s November survey had different findings. The poll revealed that the majority of Americans using marijuana reported spending more than in 2023 and some even expected to spend more by 2025.
A separate survey from the financial resources company Bankrate and YouGov that was published last month also found that seven in 10 American marijuana consumers plan to spend either more on cannabis or about the same amount in 2025 compared to last year—and 62 percent report using cash amid ongoing industry barriers to financial services.
A NuggMD study from January showed that more than 50% of cannabis consumers said they drank less or no alcohol after taking marijuana.
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