Washington State has announced that, in order to boost its coronavirus vaccination strategy, citizens will be offered a cannabis joint at various cannabis stores.
The New York Times reports that the “Joints for jabs” campaign will be running until July 12, and cannabis retailers will be able to provide customers who are 21 or older with a pre-rolled joint when they received their first or second dose at an active vaccine clinic.
The paper states that, according to the decision of the state’s liquor and cannabis board, the campaign will only apply for cannabis joints – so other products, such as edibles, won’t be offered.
Legalising cannabis has been a massive success story in Washington State since 2012. According to some estimates, more cannabis is being sold than tobacco in certain areas across the state.
Reportedly, the legal cannabis market in Washington added an estimated $1.8 billion to the state’s economy in 2020 – and experts are expecting another surge up to more than $2 billion in 2021.
Washington is not the only one where people are encouraged to get the coronavirus vaccine: as we reported in January, a cannabis dispensary in Michigan offered pre-rolled joints for everybody who could prove that they had been vaccinated.
Then the shop owner Jerry Millen told CNN: “We’re all stressed out, but the vaccine is hopefully what’s going to finally end this pandemic, and we just want to reward people who are going ahead of the curve to get the vaccine.
“If I can help stop the pandemic in any slightest way, and this is the way I can do it, so be it.”
In a post published on Green House’s Instagram account, they said those looking to participate in this campaign would have to prove that they had already gotten the jab.
They added: “We’re all hoping that the Covid vaccine is the beginning of the end for this pandemic that has taken such a toll on our neighbours, our communities and our nation.
“If you choose to get the Covid vaccine (we always support the freedom of choice), this is our way of saying thank you for helping to end this pandemic and getting us back to normal.”
