STONED
Is a stoned strip club customer a good customer?
… In terms of the amount of drinks he purchases. Does a customer stoned on marijuana buy more cocktails and beers than a customer who is not stoned?
… In terms of the amount of lap dances he purchases. Does a customer stoned on marijuana buy more lap dances and VIP dances than a customer who is not stoned?
… In terms of his interaction with the dancers. Is a customer who is stoned capable, or even interested, in lengthy conversations with dancers (which leads to more alcohol sales and more lap dances)?
The answers to those three questions are going to become very important to the strip club industry as more and more states legalize marijuana. Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in nine states (Alaska, California, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and, also, Washington D.C.), while medical marijuana is legal in another 29 states. All signs lead to recreational use of marijuana being legalized nationwide at some point.
Marijuana affects everyone differently. I have a friend from my concert industry days who is baked from the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to sleep and he is one of the smartest people I have ever met. On the flip side, I know people who will take a few hits off a joint and then sit on the couch almost comatose for the next three hours.
Club operators can stop customers from smoking pot in their clubs, but they can’t stop customers from coming in to the clubs stoned. And my gut feeling is that stoned customers are just going to spend less money.
A stoned customer is more laid back than a regular customer, almost a few beats behind everyone else in the club. They are in no rush to get another drink or to buy a lap dance. They’re not even that interested in conversation. They are entertaining themselves with how the pot amplifies all their senses—the music, the flashing lights, the dancers on stage. A hyper customer on cocaine or amphetamines (who can be a nightmare in their own way) wants more, more, more and wants it right away. Not the stoner. No rush, baby, let’s just chill and relax. Not exactly the zone a club operator or entertainer, who both are trying to make money, want their customers to be in.
And what impact will legal marijuana have on club staffs and entertainers? You certainly can’t, or shouldn’t, come to work drunk, but what about coming to work with just a little buzz on? How are club operators going to police that?
The legalization of marijuana and the taking of government intervention out of another civil liberty area is a wonderful thing.
But, and there is always a “but”, there are going to be consequences for some businesses.
