Home » Study: Legalising Weed’s Not Only Great For Ad Spends, But Junk Food Sales, Too!

4 March, 2019

Study: Legalising Weed’s Not Only Great For Ad Spends, But Junk Food Sales, Too!

There’s already been a fair bit written about the legalisation of marijuana – namely in the US and increasingly around the globe – and the massive boost it will be for ad spends.

According to a 2018 study by Arcview Market Research and its research partner BDS Analytics, global spending on legal cannabis – be it recreational or medicinal – will hit a staggering $US57 billion by 2027.

Now a new study has shown the impact weed smoking has on the sales of junk food.

In results that will probably surprise absolutely no one, a study by The University of Connecticut has proven the correlation between smoking marijuana and users who “go on an epic junk-food binge, consuming mass quantities of chips, cookies, and whatever other high-calorie, salt-or-sugar-laden snacks they can get”.

In good news for Macca’s, Burger Kings and 7-Elevens everywhere, the study by Michelle Baggio, assistant professor of economics, has proven a link between the legalisation of marijuana and the “increased consumption of certain high-calorie foods”.

Baggio studied the sale of junk food over a 10-year period in more than 10,000 counties in the US.

Her research proved that in counties were marijuana had been legalised, sales of ice-cream were up 3.1 per cent, sales of cookies were up 4.1 per cent and sales of packet chips were up 5.3 per cent.

Commenting on the findings, Baggio said: “These might seem like small numbers, but they’re statistically significant and economically significant as well.

“I’m not an advocate for legalisation or not. I’m just interested in whether there are unintended consequences to the policy”, she commented.

Presently in the US, 10 of the 50 states have fully decriminalised marijuana use for adults over the age of 21. Some 33 states have decriminalised for medicinal use, while it remains illegal in 17 states.

Just last week, B&T reported on an epic pro-marijuana ad directed by Spike Jonze for the medicinal marijuana company MedMen. Check the spot out here.

The ad, titled “The New Normal”, appeared on MedMen’s YouTube page and will also get a run at the cinema, radio and entertainment cable networks such as E!, Bravo, and Oxygen.

Thus far, many of America’s TV networks have baulked at running ads promoting marijuana, citing broadcasting standards, not to mention that it’s still illegal in many American states.

However, that could soon change if the Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics data is to be believed.

According to the research, the largest group of cannabis buyers will come from North America, going from $US9.2 billion in 2017 to $US47.3 billion in 2027.

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Marijuana Spike Jonze The University of Connecticut