Ask a Stoner: Is Labor Day Like 4/20 for Dispensaries?

Dear Stoner: I hear that Labor Day is a big stoner holiday. Is that true? What deals are out there?
Susie Q

Dear Susie: I’ve never heard of my fellow potheads getting more excited to puff on Labor Day than on any other day that ends with a Y. However, the numbers show that Labor Day is one of the biggest weekends of the year for retail cannabis. According to BDS Analytics, Colorado dispensary sales between Friday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend in 2016 reached $17.3 million, good enough to rate as the highest-selling weekend of the year, and 18 percent higher than the weekend spanning July 4.

BDS believes that the high Labor Day sales are indicative of tourists enjoying “one last summer hurrah” in Colorado before the weather gets colder and Red Rocks Amphitheatre closes for the season. The most well-known stoner holiday, 4/20, might get more coverage, but BDS says that while 4/20 means more product deals and higher sales volume for dispensaries, those don’t necessarily translate into more money.

So, is Labor Day a real “stoner holiday”? In the same sense that Presidents’ Day is a huge holiday for people who drive cars, yes, it’s a holiday – for the retailer. We haven’t heard of any Labor Day-specific deals yet, but we’ll keep you posted on westword.com/marijuana as the weekend arrives; in the meantime, monitor your favorite dispensary’s social media.

Have a question for our Stoner? E-mail marijuana@westword.com or call the potline at 303-­293-­2222.