Increasing legalisation of marijuana will hit New Zealand wine industry, claims expert
A New Zealand wine expert has warned that the possible legalisation of marijuana will hit the country’s wine industry hard, and that the increasing legislation of the use of cannabis in the US will also have an adverse effect.
“The US is our largest wine export market,” Campbell told Rural News Group. “A fall in wine consumption is likely to have a negative effect on our wine exports. The legalisation of medical marijuana, and particularly recreational marijuana, could prove to be an even greater threat to our wine industry.”
In the US ten states have already legalised cannabis for recreational use, while 33 states have legalised medical marijuana. A joint study by researchers at two US universities and one in South America claim a marked reduction in alcohol consumption in the US appears to be directly related to the change in medical marijuana laws.
Using Nielsen data from 90 alcohol chain stores between 2006 and 2015 they compared alcohol sales in states that do not have medical marijuana laws with sales in states that do. Those states where medical marijuana was legalised showed an almost 15% reduction in alcohol sales, with researchers concluding that marijuana and alcohol are strong substitutes for each other, sharing almost the same audience.
The impact of legalised marijuana on wine sales seems likely to be considerably greater as it will be used by a far greater number of people.
US wine consumers spent US$41.4 billion on wine in 2017. Adult recreational marijuana use is estimated to be US$7.7 billion in 2019 and US$14.9 billion by 2021.