Legalizing recreational marijuana can increase junk food sales, which may contribute to obesity, a major risk factor for diseases like Type-2 diabetes heart disease as well as various cancers, say researchers. The team found a link between recreational marijuana legalization and increased consumption of certain high-calorie foods, suggesting there may be something more substantial to the urban myth of “the munchies”.
According to the researchers, from the University of Connecticut, people after smoking marijuana go on a junk food binge, consuming mass quantities of chips, cookies. For the study, published in the journal Social Science Research Network, the team looked at data on monthly purchases of cookies, chips and ice cream from grocery and convenience stores in more than 2,000 countries in the US over a 10-year period.
The team compared purchasing trends to the implementation dates for recreational marijuana laws in states including Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Their analysis showed that legalizing recreational marijuana led to a 3.1 percent increase in ice cream purchases, a 4.1 percent increase in cookie purchases, and a 5.3 percent increase in chip purchases immediately after recreational marijuana sales began.
These might seem like small numbers. But they’re statistically and economically significant and leads to obesity, overweight and other hazardous diseases. This is a growing concern not just in the United States but also in other countries where recreational marijuana is becoming legal and the majority of consumers are teenagers and early adults
