Legalizing recreational marijuana will be a profitable venture for companies ahead of the curve, but it won't be for every industry.
Newly-released research shows in area where recreational marijuana has been legalized, online searches for tobacco increase, while searches for alcohol decrease.
RELATED: Pennsylvania adds anxiety disorders, Tourette syndrome to medical marijuana program
The study, which evaluated anonymous data from 28 million searches and 120 million ad impressions between January 2014 and April 2017, shows that tobacco searches increased by 8% and alcohol decreased by 11% when cannabis is legalized in an area.
The alcohol and tobacco industries have a combined net-worth of $300 billion, the study found. And if the alcohol industry wants to survive, experts said, it will have to come up with "creative strategies" to avoid a decline.
Interestingly, the study also found that when marijuana is legalized the number of searches by adults increased by 17%. But with those age 19 and younger, searches actually decrease.
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