NORCAL vs. SOCAL | Guess who has more ‘frequent’ cannabis users?

North and South: Even in California, we’re different.

Editor’s note: It’s a rivalry as old as westward expansion: To the north, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial spirits, forged in the Gold Rush and Silicon Valley. To the south, chronically chilled-out, image-conscious dreamers and Hollywood hopefuls. Even these timeworn tropes are rooted in truths, differences that are reflected in our cannabis consumption, too. This series will explore what makes NorCal and SoCal’s marijuana cultures distinct at the dawn of legalization in California.

So who’s got the most ‘frequent’ consumers?

First, let’s define “frequent”: People who consume cannabis four times per week or more, including daily use.

Across the board, the numbers may be higher than you’d expect. That’s less surprising, perhaps, when you consider that 90% of California cannabis consumers report some form of medical use, according to the latest Eaze Insights report. And anyone who regularly experiences pain, insomnia, anxiety, headaches or nausea knows that those ailments rarely, if ever, take a day off.

[SEE ALSO: 5 ways real Eaze customers use cannabis for managing pain]

Throw in the increasing curiosity about the practice of low-dosage regimens, or microdosing, and it’s little wonder that California consumers are using cannabis for more than just weekend recreation.

It’s also a strong indication that cannabis is being accepted, and readily used, as a wellness product, part of a daily or near-daily routine that will only gain in popularity as more clinical studies come online in the coming years.

So who’s more on-trend?

The answer is …

Northern California.

Yep, up north, 72% of consumers are more likely to consume “frequently,” according to Eaze Insights. In Southern California, that number is 67% – not a huge gap, but a statistically significant one.

How Eaze Works from Eaze on Vimeo.

Can the disparity be explained?

The reasons for this are elusive, though significant cultural influences spring to mind: Northern California is the birthplace of the medical marijuana movement in the U.S. And San Francisco is more closely connected to the still-reverberating ’60s counterculture that began to bring marijuana out of the shadows.

But the biggest factor is probably that NorCal, with its endless miles of rugged woods and cannabis-friendly microclimates that nurtured outdoor grows for decades, has had more time and supply to seed the cannabis culture, says Jason Pinsky, Chief Cannabis Evangelist for Eaze. The indoor-grown movement, which tilts toward SoCal, came along much later (and is still booming, with L.A.-based brands like Classix setting up shop alongside established SoCal indoor growers like THC Design).

Or maybe SoCal people are just more chilled out by nature?

We kid, we kid.

The bigger picture of this trend makes a little more sense when you layer on other factors, like who’s more likely to buy from licensed sources, who prefers delivery over a trip to the dispensary, and who thinks they’re bigger cannabis nerds.

We’ll get to those stats in coming weeks. For now, no matter what part of California you live in, keep on enjoying the moment as often as you need – we’re open every day.