Another study found evidence that alcohol and marijuana were substitutes (i.e., an increase in the price of one causes a shift in consumption and an increase in demand for the other) (Chaloupka and Laixuthai 1997). The study found that raising both the price of beer and the minimum legal drinking age reduced youth demand for alcohol. Further, the results suggested that marijuana decriminalization reduced youth drinking. Under decriminalization, youth face lower potential costs of marijuana use, so the pattern found in this study suggested that youths substitute marijuana and use less alcohol in States where marijuana is decriminalized. In addition, the researchers found that higher marijuana prices increased alcohol demand, which is consistent with the conclusion that the two substances are substitutes.
