The start of 2022 has seen the cost-of-living rise at a rate that most of us have never experienced before. Whether that be gas prices, groceries or buying buds, we are all feeling the pinch. So, like me, you’re probably looking at your expenditure to figure out where you can save some money. If you are consuming cannabis either medically or recreationally, you’ve probably wondered exactly how can you keep the costs down.
I’m here to help you reduce this expenditure without necessarily having to cut down on the sweet Mary Jane. Something that isn’t an option for most medical marijuana consumers.
So here goes, these are my top 5 tips for saving on cannabis.
1. Coupon Code Sites
You’ve probably used a coupon before. Usually, they are found in the back of magazines or in your local newspaper. But did you know that the internet is now rife with websites dedicated to couponing? There are also a select few sites that are solely dedicated to saving money on cannabis and cannabis accessories. I have been using Your Weed Coupons for a couple of years now, they list hundreds of stores in a range of categories. From cannabis seeds and dispensaries through to CBD, headshops and vaporizer stores.
Checking one of these before you make your next purchase could see you save anywhere up to 50% depending on the time of year and the sales available. A great time to check is around 420 and Black Friday where the deals tend to be at their best.
2. Grow Your Own
This will incur some additional costs to begin with, unless you live in a climate where outdoor growing is possible. As you will need to purchase lights, tents, nutes and other equipment to make it happen. However, this is a long term investment as once you are up and running you can produce your own buds at a cost of around $214 a pound outdoors or $472 a pound indoors.
With the average cost of buying an ounce being $265.58 in the US, which works out at almost $4250 per pound. That’s almost 10 times the price of growing your own. In the long term, that makes it pretty much a no brainer to grow.
3. Vaporize, Don’t Smoke
Like with growing, buying a vaporizer can be expensive, a top end device like The Mighty will cost around $400. But did you know using a vaporizer is way more efficient than smoking a blunt? With a blunt most of the expensive cannabinoids are literally going up in smoke. Up to around 30% of the THC and other cannabinoids will make it to your bloodstream (this is known as bioavailability) when smoking.
Compare that to the bioavailability of using a vaporizer, where efficacy can be as high as 50-80%. Using a vape could see you use half the amount of cannabis compared to just smoking it to get the same effects. Not to mention all the extra benefits from the terpenes that are not destroyed when vaping.
I switched to vaping myself a couple of years ago and saw an almost immediate decrease in the amount of bud I bought. There’s also the benefit of saving your already vaped bud and then infusing butter with the remaining THC so you can get high on the same supply a second time.
4. Take a T-Break
Now this isn’t really an option if you are a medical consumer and I did say that I would give you some tips for saving without cutting down, but taking a tolerance break is a sure-fire win, so I had to include it. Anyone will know that consuming THC on the regular sees your tolerance increase rapidly.
Just taking a week out can be great for not just saving a little money during that week off but reducing your tolerance for when you get back to it again. That first smoke will hit like a train and you’ll be giggling and munching like it’s your first time!
5. Stop the Scavengers
You got that one friend that never puts in but always expects a smoke? Weed is expensive, it’s time for them to put in or piss off. Now, I’m not advocating cutting out your broke homie who could really do with a toke, I’m not heartless and will happily hook a friend up if I have and they don’t. But sometimes, you come across that rare soul who you know can afford it but will just mooch off the rest of us. Saying no to a friend will be painful, hopefully, they’ll get the hint and maybe next time they will bring their own or at least throw a couple of bucks your way.
Conclusion
With these 5 tips you will easily reduce your cannabis costs, saving a little money to go towards the rising cost of living. There are plenty more creative ways you can save too, through budgeting, imposing limits on your consumption or you could even become a scavenger for a short while!
