Midwest Wine Press

Will Wine Tourists Become Weed Tourists?

by · January 10, 2014

It will be interesting see how alcohol consumption is affected by the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado.  There have been a number of stories lately about pot being better for you than alcohol.  But there does not seem to be any research to back up this claim.

Most of the positive sentiment about the legalization of pot is driven by three valid arguments:

1.  Stop drug violence in Mexico and South America.

2.  Increase tax revenue that would otherwise go to organized crime.

3.  The failure of Prohibition.

While these are all compelling reasons for legalization,  one has to wonder if the backlash begins when stoned people start doing stupid things in large numbers.  Employers will still have to drug test because employee drug use is a potential liability that leads to lawsuits.

Any doper will tell you that it’s hard to be a little bit high.  In contrast, one or two drinks have little effect, if any, on people who are accustomed to drinking alcohol.

In the meantime, get prepared for pot tourism, as described in this article today from Slate:  New Amsterdam- Is Colorado Ready for Pot Tourism?

 

 

Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

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4 Responses

  1. James T Kearns says:
    January 12, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    Mark: Just wondering if you plan on attending the Wisconsin annual wine fruit and vegiable conferance next weekend sunday and monday. I do not knnow if you have attended in the past but it would be great to get more subscribers to your site.

    • Mark Ganchiff says:
      January 12, 2014 at 8:27 pm

      James,

      Yes, I will be a the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference for the third year in a row. I’ll be speaking about regional wine trends in the Midwest.

      See you there,

      Mark G.

  2. Scott Winterroth says:
    January 14, 2014 at 11:18 am

    I’m game for field testing this topic…. 🙂

    • Mark Ganchiff says:
      January 14, 2014 at 2:33 pm

      Pot may be like gambling, first you could only gamble in Nevada. Now there are casinos everywhere. What will be the first Midwest State to legalize pot? I would put my money on Wisconsin. (Or Illinois because we really need the money.)