Saturday, November 26, 2016

Is alcohol losing its kick?

Boston Beer Company, the largest craft brewer in the US with brands that include Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard cider, said the widening legalisation of marijuana posed a risk to its sales.

“It is possible that legal marijuana usage could adversely impact the demand for the company’s products,” argued its regulatory filing in February. The Massachusetts-based brewer added: “We also believe that impacts the craft beer industry.”

In Massachusetts, the Beer Distributors’ PAC, an industry body, donated $25,000 this year to a campaign group fighting legalisation.

Trevor Stirling, analyst at Bernstein says it is understandable that Boston Beer — which makes almost all its sales in the US — would list legalisation as a risk factor, whereas the large international brewers, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Budweiser brewer, do not.

“Craft beer tends to appeal to a younger and more hipster crowd who are also more likely to be smoking cannabis,” he said. “Whereas a typical Budweiser drinker — a blue collar industrialised worker — is less likely to smoke cannabis, so potentially there’s more risk for craft beer than for mainstream beer.”

Via Drudge: https://www.ft.com/content/f72c1f00-b254-11e6-a37c-f4a01f1b0fa1

12 comments:

deborah said...

It depends on whose ox is gored.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

Truth is DUI fears are cracking down on drinking. Since most pot smokers think they won't get a DUI, that might have an impact. Of course, the test for DUI for dope is actually already out there and will be widely used by cops.

ricpic said...

Boston Lager's available and those benighted blue collar untermenschen are still clinging to their Buds? Gott im Himmel!

edutcher said...

Booze has still less bad effects than weed, particularly for the recreational user, but weed is being marketed very skillfully.

The Blonde met a useless idiot recently who told her weed was soooo much better because there was no hangover.

And E has a good point; DUIs for weed are skyrocketing.

ndspinelli said...

ed wrote and directed Reefer Madness.

ndspinelli said...

There are WAY too many craft beers just like there were WAY too many wine coolers back in the 80's. There are more, different, fucking beers on the shelf as there are cereal.

Methadras said...

I'm an engineer in the medical diagnostic development field. There currently is no field sobriety test to test the levels of THC in the bloodstream like there is for alcohol. Right now, DUI's might be challenged in court because of that alone. If there is even a trace amount of THC the current tests will only show that there is presence, not how much. There is no quantifiable way to show level currently with a scale like BAC, but that is being worked on. So if you ingest weed in whatever way it takes to get into your bloodstream and you get pinched for DUI, fight it and have your lawyer use that defense.

Methadras said...

I'll also put it you guys like this. I'm not a weed aficionado, but i might try an edible since I hear they are a lot better than smoking them because of the conversion in the liver to 11-Hydroxy-THC and then down to 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC which may or may not be psychoactive. Now that it's legalized in CA, I might consider it as a one time thing just to try.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

Meth: Sounds like a great racket for DUI defense lawyers!

deborah said...

Seems developing a THC breathalyzer would be a snap.

Methadras said...

deborah said...

Seems developing a THC breathalyzer would be a snap.


You would think, however THC doesn't metabolize the way alcohol does in the gut to read blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. There are ongoing studies to make these scales and determinations, but it will take years.

I also need to clarify my earlier statement because I just re-read it and I'm a little disappointed I didn't clarify it earlier, but there are field sobriety tests for drugs, but they are all indicators of presence, not levels of how much presence. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused.

deborah said...

Thanks, Meth, good info.