The use of cannabis, commonly known as ‘marijuana’, has begun to be legalized, particularly in European countries and the United States. But a new study published offers interesting data on the public repercussions of legalizing cannabis use.
Research published by the University of Pittsburgh revealed that alcohol consumption has increased in some US states where marijuana use has been legalized. This increase rate was much higher, especially among young people and men.
With the legalization of cannabis, the number of people consuming alcohol began to increase:
The shared research used data from 4.2 million adult individuals compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2010 and 2019. In total, marijuana use was legalized in 11 US states between these years.
The data revealed that just one year after marijuana became legal, the rate of “consumption of alcohol at least once” increased by 1.2%. There was no change in the moderate or high alcohol consumption rate.
The rate of increase in alcohol consumption in the same category among individuals in the 18-24 age group was 3.7%. No noticeable change was observed in other age groups.
When the data were analyzed by demographics, it was seen that the rate of increase was especially high among men, non-Hispanic white individuals and those who did not have a university education.
The head of the research is Prof. Dr. Coleman Drake stated that the data are important and that the long-term relationship between alcohol consumption and cannabis can be better understood.
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