Many marijuana dispensaries in Washington D.C. are seeing tremendous sales, including Takoma Wellness Center.
On March 12th, Takoma’s medical marijuana dispensary’s sales doubled typical Thursday numbers, according to Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn, who co-owns Takoma Wellness Center with his wife and son.
This was the day after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Friday the 13th of March was “the largest day ever” for the dispensary, said Kahn. He stated, “Usually, the largest day of the year for a dispensary is April 20. March 13 was about 30 percent higher than last year’s April 20. Since then, every day has been more than what we would think of as normal.”
Ngiste Abebe, director of policy for Columbia Care, says “cannabis sales are up [across the country], especially in the medical space.”
Despite Mayor Muriel Bowser recently ordering the closure of all nonessential businesses on March 25th, sales have still been strong.
Kahn however says that, despite record sales, the city’s dispensaries are hamstrung by regulations that prevent them from offering curbside pick-up and delivery to patients, many of whom are immunocompromised, elderly, or otherwise vulnerable to the coronavirus.
D.C.’s medical marijuana program has been in operation since 2013, and has 6,217 registered patients, according to data from D.C. Health.
