A Canadian researcher has discovered a “important detrimental affiliation” between regulated medical marijuana gross sales and alcohol gross sales.
The analysis by enterprise professor Michael J. Armstrong was printed on-line within the journal Well being Coverage in November, and in contrast authorized medical marijuana gross sales to gross sales of beer, wine, and liquor in Canada from 2015 to 2018.
Armstrong’s examine discovered that every greenback of authorized hashish offered was related to alcohol gross sales declines of between 74 Canadian cents (54 cents) and CA$0.84.
Nonetheless, the Brock College professor mentioned his analysis didn’t show causation.
Armstrong mentioned the analysis means that medical hashish use changed some alcohol consumption.
The examine discovered that Canada’s alcohol gross sales in 2017-2018 have been roughly 1.8% decrease than they in any other case would have been with out regulated medical marijuana.
The paper additionally urged that diminished alcohol gross sales might partly offset any harms and advantages from hashish legalization.
“For instance, elevated cannabis-related well being issues may include decreased alcohol-related ones. And governments’ new hashish tax earnings is perhaps offset by decrease alcohol tax revenues,” Armstrong instructed MJBizDaily by way of e mail.
The Canadian examine accounted for variations in alcohol costs, retail spending, unemployment charges, and impaired driving penalties.
Armstrong’s 1.8% determine is way smaller than the 15% demand lower for alcohol that was estimated for Washington State, however the Washington examine by Keaton Miller and Boyoung Website positioning examined leisure hashish.
The examine could be discovered right here.