Legalization of Cannabis in Canada Was Associated With a Decline in Beer Sales

Canada legalized non-medical cannabis use in 2018; this has led to increased use of cannabis, which may have an impact on the use of other drugs. Researchers used data on beer sales from 2012 to 2020 and spirits from 2016 to 2020 to investigate the impact of cannabis legalization on alcohol sales using an interrupted time series design, adjusting for seasonal patterns.

• Beer sales in Canada declined by 96 hectoliters/100,00 population in the first month after legalization and by an additional 4 hectoliters/100,000 each month thereafter for an average monthly decline of 136 hectoliters/100,000.*
• Overall, there was a 3 percent decline in beer sales between September 2018 and February 2020.
• There was no significant change in sales of spirits from January 2016 to February 2020.

* 1 hectoliter = 26.4 US liquid gallons.

Comments: This study suggests that some individuals may be replacing beer consumption with cannabis use. It is not clear what effect this has on health outcomes on an individual level; if it is reducing heavy use, then it may have a positive effect, but it may be primarily replacing lower-risk drinking.

Darius A. Rastegar, MD

Reference: Mital S, Bishop L, Bugden S, et al. Association between non-medical cannabis legalization and alcohol sales: quasi-experimental evidence from Canada. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024;257:111137.