In Canada, the legalization of medical cannabis is associated with a reduction in alcohol sales

A Canadian researcher has found a «significant negative association» between medical cannabis sales and alcohol.

Professor Michael J. Armstrong's study was published online in the journal Health Policy last November. It compared legal sales of medical cannabis to sales of beer, wine and other spirits in Canada from 2015 to 2018.

Armstrong's study revealed that every dollar of medical marijuana sold was associated with a drop in alcohol sales of between 74 Canadian cents (51 euro cents) and 0.84 Canadian cents.

«The negative association was robust to several alternative modeling choices,» writes the study's author.

Armstrong stated that his study suggested that medical cannabis use replaced some alcohol consumption, but cautioned that it did not prove causality.

The study found that alcohol sales in Canada in 2017-2018 were about 1.8 % lower than they would have been without legal medical cannabis. It also suggests that reduced alcohol sales could partially offset the harms and benefits of cannabis legalization.

Armstrong's figure of 1.8 % is much lower than the drop of 15 % of estimated alcohol demand for Washington State in a study of recreational cannabis.

«For example, the increase in cannabis-related health problems could be accompanied by a decrease in alcohol-related ones. And new government revenues from cannabis taxes could offset declining revenues from alcohol taxes,» said Armstrong.

The Canadian study took into account differences in alcohol prices, retail spending, unemployment rates and drink-driving penalties. It can be read here.

An American analysis published in 2017 identified a similar decline in alcohol sales after the adoption of medical cannabis by the various American states, just as a other study from 2021 of the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. On the other hand, a more recent study evaluating the impact of legalized adult-use cannabis in the U.S. reported an association with increased alcohol consumption among people aged 21 and over.

The legalization of recreational cannabis would also lead to a reduction in retail beer sales, according to new data published in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.