A chrontact, says the Urban Dictionary, can be defined as “the person from whom you score weed.” Except that nowadays, it’s no longer the kid down the hall in your dorm, or the guy standing behind the convenience store. Those are becoming relics of a once-thriving black market. Now, with legalization, “cannabusiness” is being commercialized along the lines of alcohol and tobacco. Investor-owned enterprises compete for a larger share of the market. It’s been compared to the California Gold Rush, but I suspect that phase will be relatively short-lived. The Big Players are arriving, and they have a habit of pushing aside the little guy.
Here’s an article from a few months back on who is actually making money from the explosion in cannabis production and use. One comment compares the shift with the gentrification of an urban neighborhood. When those with money move in, those without money must leave:
Cannabis capitalism: who is making money in the marijuana industry?
One cannabis firm actually tried to place a TV ad in the Holy Sepulcher of Commercialism, the Super Bowl. Is nothing sacred?
How a failed Super Bowl ad signals the future of cannabis advertising
Not a surprise that the fastest growing segment of new users are senior citizens. Here’s an update:
Older Americans Are Flocking to Medical Marijuana
I recently read one physician’s opinion that the human body was designed to last to age 40 or thereabouts. Modern medicine, he claimed, has upset that equation. Now the life expectancy for an American is around 80 years, and many of us live well beyond that. No wonder we suffer from an assortment of ailments during our later years. Most of them won’t be fully correctable; we’ll have to manage them as best we can.
So there will always be older folks who would seriously consider using cannabis to manage their aches and pains, certainly in preference to an opioid. Can’t blame them.
Is the cannabis really making a positive difference in terms of pain? Hard to say. Might just be suppressing anxiety or relieving insomnia, both of which are factors in how someone experiences pain. It’s ultimately subjective anyway.
One thing for sure: If people are willing to buy cannabis, in any form and for most any reason, Big Cannabis will surely figure out a way to get it into their hands.
