The munchies are real.
Daily users of marijuana are reshaping the consumer economy by buying more frozen food, and they’re also ordering on delivery apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats more than average, a new study found. One of their favorite delivery foods: Little Caesars pizza.
Consumers of cannabis with psychoactive THC skew younger and lower income, according to the study of almost 6,000 cannabis users released Thursday by Numerator, a data and tech company. Two-thirds use a few times per week and 38% do so daily. They allot more of their grocery bill than average to snacks and beverages — especially sports and energy drinks, beer, frozen sandwiches, spirits, frozen pizza, and frozen appetizers.
“Daily THC users have even more pronounced spikes in almost every category studied, with notable differences from regular THC users in candy, herbs & spices, frozen potato snacks, and packaged sweet snacks,” Numerator said in a news release.
Cannabis use’s impact on alcohol consumption was mixed, with more frequent users spending less than infrequent users. More than one in three THC users say they reduced alcohol consumption since taking up cannabis — yet they are still more likely overall than non-users to buy alcohol.
Fast-food chains and delivery services may be the biggest beneficiaries. THC users are more likely to have visited a limited-service restaurant or used a food delivery app in the past three months leading up to April. DoorDash, Uber Eats and Little Caesars were among the most used.
“These behaviors are even more pronounced among daily THC users,” Numerator’s analysis found. Users of CBD, which is the non-psychoactive compound of marijuana that is marketed as having relaxing qualities, were by comparison older, higher income and looking to manage health issues.
- Tiffany Kary for Bloomberg
