Americans Bought $400 Million in Cannabis on the Fourth of July

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]I[/dropcap]t’s no secret that Americans tend to shell out some major cash on booze and food for the Fourth of July—so it should be no surprise that the same can now be said for cannabis as well. 

According to research conducted by Leafly, legal cannabis sales reached an estimated $400 million during the week of the holiday, which is 60 percent over the national average. Leafly obtained official numbers from Akerna, formerly MJFreeway, the cannabis tech that handles most cannabis sales transactions.

Akerna also estimates that by 2020, Americans could be spending more on cannabis than on wine, coming close to the amount of cannabis sales that was recorded on April 20.

The research shows that sales of cannabis began to rise early in the week, even though Independence Day fell on a Thursday. Sunday, June 30, was the highest-grossing Sunday for cannabis sales so far this year. Sales peaked on the Wednesday before the holiday at more than double the daily average, 112 percent, and even remained high on Independence Day when many stores were closed. “The strength of the week is a healthy indication of continual consumer adoption as legalization expands and acceptance grows across all demographic segments,” said Akerna Chief Executive Officer Jessica Billingsley.

Of course, while this was a major victory for cannabis sales, it’s only the beginning. The holiday cannabis oil lovers wait for every year, 710, is right around the corner, and that’s always a record day for sales. Akerna predicts sales will be up 30 percent above average that day. 

It’s also nothing new that cannabis sales are skyrocketing. Recently, it was estimated that cannabis sales could reach $15 billion across the world this year, and Colorado has already surpassed $6 billion in cannabis sales. As legalization sweeps states across the nation, sales are expected to continue climbing.