People swap pot for drinks at legal age

When young people hit the legal drinking age, alcohol consumption goes up at the same rate as drug use goes down, a study has found.

The study shows there is a trade-off in illicit substance law, its author said (Photo: Wiki)

The findings of the study suggest that alcohol and marijuana are directly correlated in peoples’ minds.

Published in the Journal of Health Economics, the US-based study saw an unsurprising spike in alcohol consumption just after participants turned 21 – the legal drinking age in America.

Significantly however, it found a corresponding drop in marijuana use among those surveyed.

The research looked at survey data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and pinpointed the drinking age as a way to compare people’s behaviour before and after the months before and after people’s 21st birthdays.

It found the probability of having consumed alcohol in the past 30 days increases by around 16% just as they turn 21. Meanwhile, marijuana use decreases by 10%.

The findings could play a part in the debate surrounding marijuana laws in the US, according to The Washington Post. It said that the strictness at which marijuana laws and underage drinking laws were enforced would have an effect on each other, because people seem to use whichever substance is cheapest or more available.

Professor Ben Crost, co-author of the study, said the results show there’s a trade-off in the enforcement of illegal substance law.

“If you think alcohol is much more harmful to people’s health, then you should probably restrict alcohol use,” Crost said in a statement seen by WP. “If you think marijuana is more harmful, then you might want to consider loosening the restrictions for alcohol.”