Springtime is upon us, so what does this mean for drug trends? If post years hold true (which there is nothing that says they won’t) this is the time of year that new items such as drug-referencing clothing, evolving stash items, and cannabis-infused beverages. Some new types of vapes etc. start to emerge as well.
Let’s begin with drug-referencing clothing…more times than not drug references in clothing are on t-shirts or more “summer-type wear”. Of course, this does not mean there are no drug-referencing hoodies, pants, etc. What I mean is many of these references tend to be on screen-printed tees and this is the time of year that those items hit store shelves from shopping malls, to some smoke shops to online vendors. This is the time (a bit more than normal) that you want to be paying attention to what you see in store windows, on mannequins, and even on social media-sponsored suggestions.
Moving onto vapes…we are currently trending around 50,000 hit vapes. At this time last year, it was closer to 15,000 hit vapes. As you can see pictured below that is a significant shift in only 9 months. As we roll through spring and into summer, those outdoor activities pick up where some youth are more active with friends and under less supervision because they are at home while their parents are working. This in conjunction with hard-hitting, high potency, and high-dosing vapes can lead to more addiction. How is that you ask? If you have more time to dose a product (in this case a vape) and less supervision to get caught or reduce usage your tolerance and addiction are going to rise. Meanwhile, the price of that product (based on dosing) is reducing. I anticipate we will be at 70,000 or more hit vapes by the end of the summer with prices around $35. To give you a frame of reference, a disposable vape with 1000 hits might have cost you around $10 in 2019.
Stash items- We have seen everything in the stash world from soda cans to lip balm to car keys. Many of these are sold online and in smoke shops. As you are out noticing the new drug-referencing clothing always be aware that some drug-referencing clothing lines might contain stash compartments. In the big scheme of things it is a small percentage but the products are in every state.
Cannabis beverages, which I have talked about in this newsletter, have increased TREMENDOUSLY in the last two years…especially in the last 6 months. I find aisles full of these products in “nontraditional” cannabis locations such as liquor stores and gas stations (see photo at the top of the post from a recent gas station). These drinks are everything from seltzers to soda to flavored drinks and more. Some of these drinks are not easy to identify as cannabis and the real problem is they are sold in places that children can and do frequent. Open marketing has raised awareness that these products exist and that the price points are not as expensive as you would think.
As we highlight trends in our spring issue of this newsletter we must keep in mind these are the items that we know about. It makes you think about what new drug-related products are going to hit the market in the next few months.