They mean dry flower, right?

A new study by Foray, an Auxly brand that focuses on cannabis derivatives, has found that one-third of Canadians were planning on participating in Dry January and many wouldn’t mind a little help. The public health campaign, which encourages people to celebrate the start of a new year by giving up alcohol for the month of January, has been growing in popularity.

“We have known that Dry January was a phenomenon that was increasing in importance amongst Canadians over the last few years but we were actually surprised by the number of Canadians that indicated that they’re planning to do it or seriously thinking about doing it, Mike Lickver, Auxly’s senior vice president of strategy, told The GrowthOp.

The survey of 1,500 Canadian adults conducted last month also found that 60 per cent of weekly alcohol users felt having non-alcoholic alternatives available would make Dry January an easier proposition. Not surprisingly, Auxly has experienced an increase in sales over the holiday season, though Lickver was reluctant to attribute any increase in sales to edibles because they only became available in late December. Still, he said consumers have been scooping up Auxly’s new products wherever they can find them.

“People are very excited to try them for the first time and anything that has hit the shelf has gone quickly.”

With a large number of people about to embark on their first cannabis journey, Auxly’s CEO recommends not rushing into anything. “Start low and go slow is probably a good mantra,” Lickver said. “In the derivative product category, we just launched gummies and chocolates and vape pens under the Foray brand. It is really meant to be an entry point brand. So really any product under the Foray brand is going to be a good starting place for those consumers to have their foray to cannabis if you will.”

The survey also found 77 per cent of people believe marijuana is an equal or better choice than consuming alcohol, largely because they felt it results in fewer hangovers (25 per cent) and results in an improved state (16 per cent).