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Craft Brewing Business

Is legal marijuana cutting into craft beer?

marijuana and craft beer

The early results are in, and it looks like beer and legal weed can be friends. Craft Brewing Business editors weren’t worried about this, but some forecasters and bean counters seemed to think that the new, hip recreational drug on the block was going to cut into the sales of the long-time staple.

Oh, but on the contrary! From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

The legalization of medical marijuana has helped beer sales, contrary to previous research that pointed to a decline, according to a note from Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling. Recreational pot use in the two states where it’s legal has so far not had a “significant impact” on beer, he said.

Per-capita beer drinking had a one-time increase of about 0.5 percent in the 10 largest states that have legalized medical marijuana, the Bernstein analyst found. While beer consumption later declined in those states, the rate of decline slowed to become more in line with the national average.

Remember that beer drinking overall is trending down, slightly, but those losses are only within those mighty Big Beer ranks. Craft beer, as we all know, is doing just fine.

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