WEED IN THE POST PANDEMIC WORLD

By Stu Zakim

As we emerge from our 15-month hibernation caused by COVID, I was wondering how the Cannabis community and its culture will be forever changed as a result. While there’s no predicting what will or won’t happen, allow me to share some random thoughts on the topic.

Puff, puff, pass. While a core component of our culture, how willing are you going to be to attend a concert or a party to take a hit of a stranger’s joint now? It’s been a relief to see certain brands include glass tips that fit over the edge of the joint as a solution to this problem and keeping this important tradition alive. But, as my friend journalist Steve Bloom recently discussed on Celebstoner. com, in his speaking with people including Dr. Mary Clifton, he thinks people won’t be as free sharing. Time will tell.

Dabbing. As we celebrate July 10, which is now an unofficial national holiday for the industry, remember 2020’s celebration had to be tabled. Regardless, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more private dabbing with personal products like from Puffco or friend of the Munkey Adam Amrod and his Space Cannon vs the giant Dab rooms we remember with even larger pipes and that blow torch. Consumption Lounges. Thanks to the hard work of Vlad, Ramon, and David in working with the legislators creating the recently passed legalization bill, places like The Happy Munkey won’t have to be underground anymore. While we appreciate our friends at the Astor Club and the great story about them the NY Times just did a photo essay on, getting a license in NY will allow the Munkey to become the legitimate hospitality leader in the Cannabis space and take enjoying weed publicly to new levels of entertainment.

Purchasing. Conservative estimates are that there will be no purchasing of weed at legal dispensaries in NY for 2-3 years. As we’ve seen in states like Massachusetts, which took four years after the voters approved it, the legacy market had plenty of time to continue to thrive and grow. It will be interesting to see how crowded the PATH trains or NJ Trains get once they open their legal dispensaries and how NY/NJ and the Port Authority will respond when that happens in early 2022.

So, what will this new world of Cannabis look like? I don’t know except that I can’t wait to find out. Till next time.