Access To Legal Marijuana Shops Is Linked To Reduced Heavy Alcohol Drinking, Federally Funded Study Finds

Numerous studies have linked state-level marijuana legalization to reduced alcohol use, but new federally funded research conducted by state officials in Oregon is shedding light on how access to cannabis retailers specifically is an important factor underlying the trend.

Researchers at Oregon State University and the Oregon Public Health Division sought to further investigate the association, analyzing data on rates of marijuana use and heavy alcohol consumption in areas of the state with varying levels of retail access from January 2014 to December 2022.

The research paper, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine this month, found that “odds of heavy alcohol use were lower with greater cannabis retail access, primarily among 21-24 and 65+ year olds”—”consistent with a substitution hypothesis” where people choose marijuana instead of drinking.

That’s consistent with a significant body of studies and surveys indicating that marijuana is increasingly being used as a substitute for alcohol, particularly in states where the plant is legally available.

The study, which was partially funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), also showed that adults who lived in areas with readily available access to marijuana dispensaries were more likely to report past-month cannabis use than in the pre-market era.

“Odds of frequent cannabis use also increased with greater retail access,” the authors wrote, adding that the association was true of each adult age demographic except those 18-20, who are age-gated from buying marijuana for adult use.

“Research on the mechanisms by which retail density and proximity effects occur for early to middle aged adults would inform state and local policies aimed at preventing cannabis misuse,” the authors said. “For older (65+ years) adults the net public health impacts of retail access-related increases in cannabis use are less clear given the associated decreases in their heavy alcohol use.”

While there’s been much research focusing on marijuana use trends among youth in states with and without regulated cannabis markets, this study “considered the implications that cannabis retail availability may have for early, middle, and older adults.”

“Early adulthood is a critical developmental period in which to study substance use and misuse, and therefore cannabis policy effects,” the researchers said.

The study, which is based on data extracted from the state’s the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), involved 61,581 people who participated in surveys on their alcohol use and a subset of 38,243 people who shared information about their cannabis consumption.

“Greater access to retail cannabis is a modifiable community-level risk factor for cannabis use and frequent use across subgroups of Oregon adults ages 21 years and older,” the study says. “Retail access can be regulated through an array of approaches and enacted at any level of government.”

With respect to the alcohol consumption trends observed in the study, the findings seem to comport with a poll released earlier this month that found a majority of Americans believe marijuana represents a “healthier option” than alcohol—and most also expect cannabis to be legal in all 50 states within the next five years.

Last month, another poll showed that a majority of Americans don’t consider marijuana dangerous, though most do think consuming cannabis increases the likelihood that people will transition to using more dangerous drugs.