There are a lot of misconceptions about cannabis. Decades of prohibition were accompanied by a storm of government-sponsored anti-drug propaganda. Even today as, state-by-state, the country moves toward legalization, the cloud of disinformation about cannabis lingers. The myths persist.
That’s why NorCal Cannabis, one of California’s largest and longest tenured cannabis growers and suppliers has set forth to clear the air and dispel confusion surrounding marijuana. The company has just released a landmark study, “Five Myths of Today’s California Cannabis Consumer,” a first-of-its-kind survey that paints a fuller portrait of the true cannabis consumer in California. This white paper shows who really uses cannabis—and perhaps more importantly, why they use it.
Cannabis research finds women consume as much as men, for different reasons
But while women use at the same rate as men, the reasons they use differ in important ways. Women are more likely to cite the medical benefits of cannabis than men. They are more prone to use it for pain relief and sleep. So it might not be coincidence that women also tend to value a cannabis product’s CBD-level more than the guys.
At least part of this probably reflects the fact that, according to the research, women are more likely to experience intense pain and insomnia. Fifty-six percent of cannabis users age 21 to 45 said they use cannabis to treat menstrual cramps, and 31 percent of women 45 to 54 reporting using it to alleviate pain symptoms of menopause.
Another myth debunked by the NorCal Cannabis white paper: That recreational users get high for fun, while medical users are focused on their health. The fact is, consumers, men and women, use it for physical and mental wellness.
And the NorCal Cannabis study found that while many people use cannabis to be more social, many more use it to treat pain and psychological distress. In fact, a whopping 84 percent of respondents said they use cannabis specifically to help them sleep, relieve pain, or reduce anxiety and depression.
The findings are supported by other research as well. A large-scale 2019 study by Gannett found that cannabis is being used as a replacement for other drugs, including analgesics, over-the-counter painkillers, prescriptions drugs, and even alcohol.
Again, the message of the NorCal report for companies and investors is that there is ample incentive to address these needs in their products and brands.
And it seems no California company is better positioned to meet these needs than NorCal Cannabis. From the start, NorCal has been involved in every facet of the business, from seed to sale. They expanded from medicinal marijuana to recreational, emphasizing a hybrid approach to cultivation that now annually produces 12 tons of award-winning strains and products.
Simultaneously, they’ve built a delivery network that now makes more than 2,500 deliveries a day. NorCal has already raised $90 million in funding to help carry the California cannabis market into its boundless future.
56%
of cannabis users (age 21 to 45) use cannabis to treat menstrual cramps
the average spending on cannabis per month is the same for both genders
84%
of respondents said they use cannabis specifically to help them sleep, relieve pain, or reduce anxiety and depression
"As the market for cannabis continues to expand, smart brands will meet female users where they are with products geared to their specific needs."
45%
of cannabis users (age 21 to 45) use cannabis to treat menstrual cramps
45%
84% of respondents said they use cannabis specifically to help them sleep, relieve pain, or reduce anxiety and depression
the average spending on cannabis per month is the same for both genders
Founded in 2014, NorCal Cannabis, was the first permitted medical cannabis delivery dispensary in the city of San Francisco. Five years later, it conducted this survey to better understand the California cannabis landscape and to better know its clients—and the prospective untapped market that exists in its home state. What they found was staggering.
For instance, women are not the emerging segment of new customers they are thought to be. The study found that in California, women 21 and older are just as likely to report having used cannabis in the past month as their male counterparts. More surprisingly the average spending on cannabis per month is the same ($116) for both genders.