Munchies alert: sales of cookies, ice cream and chips rise with cannabis legalization

Researchers from the Universities of Georgia and Connecticut have just proven that famous munchies (the deep sleep) are not a myth. If science has proven that cannabis has an effect on the appetite hormone, The correlation between cannabis consumption and the irresistible urge to devour all sorts of snacks remained a mystery. This study Show that, following the legalization of recreational cannabis in some US states, sales of hypercaloric products increase.

Track the munchies in the data

Researchers used monthly sales data for caloric products in grocery stores or mid-to-large retail chains across over 2,000 counties from 2006-2016. They then adopted a rigorous empirical approach that controls for heterogeneity in consumption habits, measured in terms of caloric food sales, over time (pre- and post-legalization) and space (legal cannabis counties and prohibitionist counties).

They found that, in counties located in states where cannabis is legal, ice cream sales increased by 3.11%, cookie sales by 4.11%, and potato chip sales by 5.31%. This increase begins when recreational cannabis legalization takes effect. It then levels off in the following six months for ice cream and potato chips, but not for cookies.

These results are valid because this increase is not observed in neighboring counties where cannabis is not legal. The researchers specifically selected neighboring counties to avoid too great a difference in eating habits. They also controlled for other factors that could have skewed the results and concluded that they remain valid despite everything.

If it is never good to consume this kind of junk food – it is particularly devastating in the United States – however, it appears that Cannabis also causes weight loss. and burns fat. The munchies effect could therefore be compensated for, at least in terms of silhouette, but it doesn't change the poor quality of these types of products.