FEBRUARY 13, 2023 7:01 AM
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Aside from Christmas, Valentine’s Day is one holiday that partners spend a significant amount of money on each other. In fact, according to financial website WalletHub, Americans are expected to spend almost $26 billion on Valentine’s Day-related goods or services.
With that kind of money being spent, which gifts tend to be the most popular? Flowers, fancy wine or jewelry? It’s actually none of those.
A recent report from Wired Research says that the majority of Americans plan to incorporate cannabis into their Valentine’s Day this year. The survey results, put out by Globe Newswire, found that 61% of Americans, or 148 million people, over the age of 21 will either give cannabis or consume it as part of their Valentine’s agenda this week. Around 37% of survey participants said they would be happy to receive cannabis as a gift.
“The overall findings of the survey show a significant shift in American adults’ attitudes towards cannabis, signaling a reduction in stigma and increased acceptance of cannabis use,” the report states.
The survey, based on 961 responses from American adults, found that Gen Z and Millennial people are far likelier to include weed in their plans than Gen X and Baby Boomers – who came in at about 70% to 57%. Also, respondents who are parents (69%) are likelier than people without children (57%) to use or gift marijuana on Valentine’s.
The study’s authors also note a possible reason behind marijuana becoming a more regular addition on the day of love.
Survey results show that about a quarter of respondents believe cannabis use will put them in a more romantic mood. The same percentage of people also say it helps improve their sex lives, too. In a separate study from 2019 published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, more than half of respondents said they used cannabis to alter their sexual experience. Nearly three quarters of the more than 200 participants said being high increased their sexual satisfaction.
WEED IN WA STATE
Under Washington state law, recreational weed has been legal since December 2012. However, shops need a special license to sell cannabis products. Many cities have enacted their own ordinances banning businesses from selling cannabis, though. For example, weed can be sold in Tacoma, Olympia, Seattle, Bellevue and Bellingham, but businesses can’t operate in Kent and Gig Harbor, according to zoning data from data visualization website Tableau Public.
Additionally, people can only possess a certain amount of weed products at a time:
1 ounce of consumable marijuana, also known as buds or dried marijuana flower
7 grams of concentrated cannabis such as oils, hashes and kief
16 ounces of marijuana-infused edibles
To find a shop or dispensary in Washington near you, check out the commercial cannabis website Weedmaps. It provides an interactive map that displays consumer reviews, where dispensaries are located and whether they offer recreational or medical marijuana.
