It Would Seem We dodged a bullit by going Slow and Steady....Buckle up, California consumers: It’s going to be a wild summer. Industry watchers are expecting to see statewide bargain blowout sales over the next two weeks, followed by immediate product shortages and price spikes.
The cause of the turmoil is the state’s fast-approaching testing and packaging deadline. As of July 1, 2018, all licensed medical and adult-use cannabis must conform to the state’s new testing and packaging requirements, to insure products are clean and child-resistant.
Look out for deals in email newsletters, social feeds and websites. You may find savings of 30% to 90% on flower, edibles, and extracts, with price reductions peaking at the end of June.
June blowouts will be better than Christmas, New Year’s, 4/20 or Memorial Day, said Erick Alfaro, operations manager for The Green Cross, an adult-use retail store in San Francisco. “This would be the best month for anybody trying to save some money and buy any type of cannabis.”
A few examples:
San Francisco storefront The Green Cross started blowing out flowers and edibles at 30% off in late May.
Buds & Roses customers in Los Angeles can expect to save 30% to 50% or more on rare products like cannabis oil in syringe applicators, as well as suppositories, both of which are in non-compliant packaging as of July 1.
Delivery service Sava emailed 75% off deals on flowers.
Connected Cannabis Co. dumped last year’s outdoor Gelato #41 for $40 per half-ounce at the June 3 Cannabis Cup in Santa Rosa.
Super-strong edibles of more than 100 milligrams are going to become a collector’s item, said Stephen Rechif, operations manager at The Bloom Room shop in San Francisco.
“Find any Kushy Punch TKOs,” he said. “Those are going extinct.”
What follows after July 1 is anyone’s guess. New brands might become statewide staples, while some legendary brands will be out of the marketplace, said edibles maker Kenny Morrison of Venice Cookie Co., and head of the California Cannabis Manufacturer’s Association. “It’s definitely a reckoning,” Morrison said. “We’re transitioning as we speak.”
