If I ran a gym, I'd be worried

In the US, marijuana laws that allow for recreational use of the drug have been introduced in more and more states. As always in the US, people overdo it. In the past, marijuana was criminalised and treated like heroin, even though it is far less damaging. Now, there are cannabis stores everywhere and when you walk through places like New York City, you cannot escape the smell of people smoking weed. Is there no middle ground?

In any case, the increased consumption of recreational marijuana has weird knock-on effects. One industry that benefits are manufacturers of junk food. Below is the change in money spent on junk food at local supermarkets taken from a study by Thomas Wilk and others. About a year after marijuana legalisation has been enacted, enough cannabis shops have been opened that so many people get the munchies that you can see a c.8.8% increase in junk food purchases.

Increase in junk food purchases after marijuana legalisation

Source: Wilk et al. (2024)

The increase in spending on junk food is even more impressive if you realise that people start to make fewer trips to the supermarket. Indeed, the researchers observe something they call ‘couch lock’. People stay at home and get stoned rather than going out.

Which is where gym owners come in. If people are hanging out on their sofas getting high, they are most certainly not going to the gym to work out. Could you even imagine the Big Lebowski in a gym?

Here is the change in people who do at least one cardio workout per week in the years after marijuana legalisation. People simply can’t be asked to go to the gym or even go for a run in the park. If I were a gym owner, I’d be worried.

Decline in people doing at least one cardio session per week

Source: Wilk et al. (2024)