Friday 18 November 2022 05:56 PM From bud to Bud Light: Legalizing marijuana causes alcohol use to RISE, major ... trends now
Alcohol use rises in states that legalize marijuana for recreational marijuana use, a major study has found.
The findings run contrary to arguments from advocates for legal marijuana as well as many medical researchers that the drug is far safer than alcohol.
Researchers looked at data for 4.2 million people in all 50 states from 2010 until 2019.
They found that recreational legalization was 'associated with significant increases in alcohol use that increased in magnitude over time.'
The effect was most significant among younger adults 18 to 24 and men who were not college-educated.
The researchers from University of Pittsburgh and William Paterson University in New Jersey said their findings show 'that alcohol consumption among men is more responsive to cannabis liberalization policies than it is among women.'
So far, 19 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use in adults, while 38 states have passed laws permitting it to be used for medicinal purposes.
A leading argument in the crusade for weed's legalization was that its adverse health effects are more modest than those of illicit drugs as well as alcohol.
Legalization has brought negative side effects as well. Research over the years has found that legalization spurs a jump in traffic accidents, including fatal ones, and hinders teens' academic achievement.
This graph reports percentage point changes in alcohol use over time by year. Marijuana legalization's links with alcohol consumption and sales have been investigated in the past, but the latest report out Friday is the most comprehensive yet.
The above shows cannabis use across American states. Some 19 have legalized it for recreational use, while nearly all now allow it to be used for medicinal purposes
The link between recreational marijuana use and alcohol consumption was most significant among younger adults 18 to 24, though the association between the two is likely not a product of college partying.
Recreational marijuana legalization is associated with increased alcohol use and the researchers behind this finding posit that both compliment each other economically, meaning as demand spikes for one substance it spikes alongside the other.
The authors wrore: 'Exploring the association of cannabis legalization and alcohol use is especially important given the rapid pace at which states are passing RCLs [recreational cannabis laws].
'Cannabis legalization increases cannabis use, which by itself has many health-related costs.'
