Has drinking gone down for young adults in America? Melodee Cocktail Bar owner Raul Zaragoza says he has seen a change when it comes to the younger generation drinking less, but that’s because cannabis is now legal, which creates the opportunity for people to smoke more and drink less. Raul mentions growing up you either smoked or drank, but now he has noticed a change within his bar when it comes to the age groups.

Over the last few years it has been noticed that the red cup house parties have declined. That doesn’t necessarily mean no one has parties, it is just happening less and less over time. What is the reasoning behind the decrease?

One of the main reasons for drinking less is the cost of alcohol vs cannabis. One drink costs less than a gram of cannabis, but you will need to keep buying that drink to feel anything. For the cost of a pack of alcohol it’ll be between $20-$25 while a gram of cannabis could range between $10-$20. Financially cannabis is one buy will get you high. Alcoholic beverages have gone up in price more and more over the years.

For example, just this past summer Las Vegas saw a recent drop in numbers.Las Vegas is one of the main cities in the U.S. that is known for parties and a lot of alcohol spent. Visitors in June are down 11% compared to last year and down 7% for the whole year. Even with the rebuilding around the city, like the recent Oakland sports teams heading to Las Vegas, it’s just not attracting the money that it hoped. People have started to call it a dead city.Stadium beers can sometimes cost just as much as your ticket to the game averaging around $18-$20. 

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean choosing cannabis over alcohol, regardless of what you decide, they both will do harm to your body long term. I am trying to say that younger Americans now know more about the harmful effects of doing both so they are doing their best to avoid it or doing less of it. Some younger students have witnessed the effects drinking has within their families so they try to get away from it within themselves. Which is why you will probably see more younger Americans at the gym than a bar. Between ages 18-34 gym memberships are up to 31% pointing towards people taking more care of themselves.

The fact of the matter is that drinking alcohol is not healthy and more people are starting to realize that and are turning away from it. There are more ways now to relax and socialize now. Which is why you are seeing more and more bars starting to close down or adjust their operation hours.