According to a major study, alcohol consumption is increasing in states that legalize recreational marijuana.
The researchers examined data from 4.2 million people in all 50 states from 2010 to 2019.
They found that recreational legalization “was associated with a significant increase in alcohol consumption, which increased in magnitude over time.”
The effect was most significant in younger adults aged 18 to 24 and men with no college education.
The researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and William Paterson University in New Jersey said their findings show “that alcohol use among men is more responsive to cannabis liberalization policies than among women.”
To date, 19 states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, while 38 states have enacted laws allowing its use for medicinal purposes.
A major argument in the crusade for legalizing weed was that its adverse health effects were less than those of illegal drugs and alcohol.
Legalization has also had negative side effects. Research over the years has found that legalization is leading to an increase in traffic accidents, including fatalities, and hampering teens’ school performance.
This chart shows the percentage changes in alcohol consumption over time per year. The links of marijuana legalization to alcohol use and sale have been studied in the past, but Friday’s latest report is the most comprehensive yet.
The above shows cannabis use across American states. About 19 have legalized it for recreational use, while almost all now allow it for medical use
The association between recreational marijuana use and alcohol consumption was most significant among younger adults between the ages of 18 and 24, although the association between the two is unlikely to be a product of college parties.
Legalization of recreational marijuana has been linked to increased alcohol consumption, and the researchers behind this finding posit that the two are economically complementary, meaning that demand for one substance is increasing at the same time as the other.
The authors wrote: “Exploring the link between cannabis legalization and alcohol use is particularly important given the rapid pace at which states are adopting RCLs [recreational cannabis laws].
“Legalization of cannabis increases cannabis use, which in itself has many health-related costs.”
Marijuana use in the United States
The annual Monitoring the Future survey reported that use of marijuana and hallucinogens has increased among 19- to 30-year-olds
The proportion of young adults who reported having used marijuana in the past year reached 43 percent in 2021
That’s a significant increase from 34 percent in 2016 and 29 percent in 2011.
Last month’s marijuana use among 19-30 year olds reached 29% in 2021, compared to 21% in 2016 and 17% in 2011
Daily marijuana use also increased significantly during these periods, reported by 11% of young adults in 2021, compared to 8% in 2016 and 6% in 2011
According to the report, alcohol remains the most commonly consumed substance among adults
To quantify the increase in alcohol consumption in these states, the study used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual survey called the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
The data, which reflects the behavior of over four million people, was collected from 2010 to 2019.
The study marks the largest and most comprehensive investigation into the connection between the two substances.
The findings were published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum. This study is not the first case in which an association has been identified.
A study published in 2019 found that states that had implemented recreational cannabis policies tended to have higher alcohol sales per capita.
Research into the link between substance use is expected to increase as more states reform their marijuana use laws.
Still, the results on the link between alcohol and marijuana use are mixed, and many contradict older research that suggests that legalizing marijuana is actually putting pressure on alcohol sales.
Meanwhile, a 2016 analysis of 39 reports on whether marijuana availability reduces alcohol use concluded that 16 supported the idea of people substituting alcohol for marijuana use.
Ten of these studies suggest that marijuana availability increases alcohol consumption.
For example, a team of researchers from the University of Washington reported in May that when a state decriminalizes recreational marijuana use, alcohol use and painkiller abuse and cigarette smoking by young people decrease.
The study was much smaller than the one released Friday. It was based on responses from fewer than 12,700 Washingtonians ages 18 to 25.
The legal landscape of marijuana in terms of its available potency has changed drastically over the past decade.
Nineteen states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, while 38 states have passed laws allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
The drug has been very helpful to many people with severe anxiety and depression, PTSD and insomnia, as well as other mental or emotional conditions.
It also helps relieve severe pain in people with health conditions like multiple sclerosis or cancer patients undergoing stressful chemotherapy.
Just over 42 percent of Americans between the ages of 19 and 30 said they had either smoked or used cannabis in the past year — the highest proportion since records began in 1988.
A growing body of research has shown that chronic marijuana use can alter brain development in young adults and even increase the risk of mental health problems and even lower IQ.
And it’s no secret that excessive alcohol consumption can have drastic negative health effects. It affects your frontal lobe, affects your neurotransmitters, and creates a dopamine imbalance that can lead to anxiety, depression, memory loss, and the inability to think rationally.
Alcohol use also leads to up to one in five deaths in the US from all causes. From 2015 to 2019, it accounted for 12 percent of all deaths. Reduced to those aged 20 to 49, alcohol accounted for 20.3 percent of deaths.