How Cannabis May Impact Alcohol Consumption in the Future
The first drug I ever tried was alcohol. I was about six years old when someone in my family gave me a sip of beer. I didn’t like it too much. I remember it tasting bitter. About eight years later, I was chugging down beers, wine, booze and was on the verge of starting my cannabis consumption habit.
Throughout my teen years, a mix of alcohol and cannabis was a typical weekend with the occasional psychedelic in the mix. Eventually, I grew up and realized that living a life subjected to the perceptive realities of drug fueled partying simply wasn’t sustainable.
I quit smoking weed for a while, about two years, however I still was drinking during those years. Eventually, cannabis made its way back into my life and I slowly got rid of alcohol. Nowadays, I still have a drink or three on very special occasions, however, my alcohol consumption is not even a shimmer of what it used to be in the past.
I for one, stopped drinking heavily when cannabis was re-introduced into my life. This, is the case for many…but not all. However, alcohol companies are aware that this might be a significant factor in the future of alcohol consumption wherever cannabis is legalized.
What the Booze Dudes Say
According to Brandy Rand, U.S president of International Wine & Spirits Research, legal cannabis in the future could pose a risk to alcohol consumption practices. They don’t believe that it will snuff out the market entirely. Alcohol is too well-entrenched into the fabric of humanity; we’ll be drinking all the way to the apocalypse.
However, with the re-introduction of cannabis within mainstream society will most definitely impact the way people consume their drugs. According to Rand, alcohol companies need to anticipate the shift in consumer behavior.
Some activities, like being creative or for health benefits, might prompt consumers to choose cannabis over alcohol. Considering that more than 40% of adults consume marijuana in states that it’s legal, the trend will definitely have an impact on alcohol sales.
Cannabis still isn’t as mainstream as alcohol on a national level, but that might not be the case over the coming decade.
The sheer amount of money being poured into developing consumer-friendly cannabis products means that more people will “try it” for the first time. Some might steer away from cannabis; however many will find it a suitable drug of choice with minimal side effects.
As mentioned, this wouldn’t ruin the alcohol industry. Not by a long shot. People will still be drinking. However, there will be a loss in profit, even though it may be minimal.
How Much Did You Reduce your Alcohol Consumption when you started consuming cannabis?
For me personally, cannabis became my drug of choice after I couldn’t handle the side-effects of alcohol consumption anymore. For some reason, in my mid-twenties, I started having severe hang overs from even drinking a minimal amount. One of the weirdest things was getting hangovers while I was still drinking.
After a few occasions where this became a constant factor, I decided to reduce my alcohol consumption. My weed consumption didn’t increase as a result, rather, I simply switched off the need to drink alcohol.
Nowadays, I might still want to get “drunk-ish” on occasions, however those are only on very special ones. Other than that, I consume cannabis in its multiple forms depending on the venue I’m attending. The side effects of consuming cannabis are hardly noticeable compared to the side-effects of alcohol.
Getting hungry, sleepy or thirsty are things that can be dealt with. Feeling like you have an overweight hippopotamus tap-dancing on your brain while playing the tuba, as a result from alcohol consumption, is something I’d much rather avoid.
I also know that many of my friends and acquaintances also have reduced their alcohol consumption when they adopted cannabis as their drug of choice. However, I also know of people who use the two substances together, without any signs of slowing down.
This is why the alcohol industry wouldn’t have to worry about ever going out of business. There will always be booze hounds looking to sip on the fire water. Nonetheless, I can’t imagine that alcohol companies will just let their profit margins slip into the netherworld. There will be some reaction in terms of research and development, marketing and consumer needs.
The point of this article being, that if alcohol companies are considering the potential loss in revenue due to the legality of marijuana, we’re at a point where weed is going mainstream. There are only a few more critical pieces that need to fall into place in order for the green movement to go global. Once that happens, the way we unwind, create and party will change on a grand scale.
OTHER STORIES YOU MAY ENJOY...
CAN BIG ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS COEXIST? CLICK HERE.
