On August 1, Minnesota became the latest state to legalize recreational cannabis use. That very same day, residents began to hit up Jim Cramond’s store, Strains of the Earth, clamoring for weed. But not just any type of weed – they were specifically seeking seeds.
People streamed into his Jordan, Minnesota shop to buy them in person. They bombarded him on social media about availability. His phone rang off the hook with calls from customers curious about growing their own cannabis. “We definitely saw a huge influx of people looking and purchasing seeds that day. It’s stayed steady since,” Cramond said.
Right before Cramond launched sales, he predicted that he would have to restock his seeds and growing equipment about every three weeks. Today, he’s placing reorders weekly. In September, he started offering classes to teach customers how to make their seeds grow into full, bud-producing plants. Even without social media promotion, hundreds of people have already attended his introductory tutorials.
Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational cannabis use back in 2012. In the decade since, just less than two dozen jurisdictions have followed suit, including three territories (recently the US Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia. Today, about half of Americans live in states where weed is legal.
Read more at theguardian.com