What is the Age and Gender of the Average Legal Cannabis Consumer in Washington State?

A recent study released by Headset Inc. gives insight into the gender, ages and spending habits of adults in Washington State since recreational cannabis was legalized. Headset Inc. reviewed an estimated 40,000 purchases of recreational cannabis between September 2014 and July 2016. The findings determined that the average recreational cannabis consumer is male, around 37 years old, and prefers cannabis flower over all other cannabis derivatives. This average user also spends about $647 each year on cannabis. However, more insight into these findings show that women and men of all ages are active participants in the Washington’s legal cannabis market.

Traditional cannabis flower is the most popular form of recreational cannabis consumed despite age or gender in Washington State. The second most popular cannabis purchase overall was pre-rolled joints, followed by vapor pens, edibles, concentrates and other cannabis derivatives, in that order. When it comes to the differences of cannabis purchases between men and women, the study showed that women purchase edibles, pre-rolled joints more often than men, while men purchase more traditional bud and concentrates than women. The purchase of vapor pens is about equal between the two genders.

Another finding of this study reflected that the older the consumer, the higher the dollar amount they spent on average at cannabis stores. Co-Founder of Headset told Bloomberg, “As you’re older, you might have more money to go and make bigger purchases. The millennials might be out and about more; they can drop into [marijuana dispensaries] more often. Older people might just plan more.” Another factor could be that the medicinal need of older patients is higher than that of younger people, so spending more money on cannabis is a necessity.

While there are a huge number of cannabis users between the ages of 21-34, the average age of cannabis consumers is 37. This is because there is still a population of people over the age of 70 that use cannabis regularly, which brings the average up.

Overall, it appears that it does not matter what age or gender you are, cannabis consumption is popular among all demographics of individuals in Washington State.