Operators in the Arizona cannabis industry attribute the phenomenon of long lines to a variety of factors.
For one, there's the public's sheer enthusiasm for marijuana. People are coming to dispensaries in droves. Even before Proposition 207 — the ballot measure that legalized the consumption and sale of recreational marijuana — was approved during the 2020 general election, medical marijuana sales were through the roof.
Then there's the fact that many dispensaries are maintaining social distancing and other pandemic-era protocols, despite Governor Doug Ducey's recent executive order repealing the remaining COVID-19 mitigation measures.
"I see the lines continuing probably towards the end of the year, in part because of social-distancing requirements and in part because the demand is still there," said Raul Molina, chief operating officer at The Mint, which runs dispensaries in Tempe, Mesa, and Phoenix. "There’s still the sexiness of coming into the dispensary, seeing it for the first time, purchasing for the first time."