The research, conducted at the University of Connecticut, analyzed the sales of alcoholic drinks in the States where medical cannabis had become legal between 2015 and 2016, and it revealed a 13 % drop.
The conclusion is that the gradual legalization of therapeutic cannabis in 29 States has led to a significant decrease in the consumption of alcohol. It was basically a comparative study between the 'before' and 'after' of those States in which the legalization of medical marijuana had recently taken place, by establishing a link with the beer and wine sales in there as well. It should be noted, though, that researchers didn't use any liquor sales data because they couldn't find any reliable figures.
While other studies have tried to investigate this interesting connection between cannabis and alcohol through surveys conducted among consumers, this research would be more reliable because it's based on objective data. This is at least what one of the investigators of this project, Alberto Ching, an econ professor at the University of Georgia, has assured.
According to this study, at least two years from the start of the legalization have had to pass for the sales of alcohol to go down by 13 % in some States, although it's true there was an initial dramatic drop.
Can cannabis become a real alternative to alcohol? As demonstrated by this study, legal marijuana entails a series of changes. The drop in the consumption of alcohol is not the only consequence of marijuana legalization. Many research studies have revealed it has also led to a significant decrease in the crime rate. Since marijuana is not an innocuous substance, we have to build a framework where public health is the priority and not, as it's been to date in other industries, the economic interests.