Snack Food Eating Up 7.2% In Recreational Marijuana States

According to new data from Nielsen, junk food sales have increased by 2% in the past 4 years where marijuana is legal. In states where marijuana is still illegal, snack sales increased by just 1.3%.

Nielsen’s data also unveils that the overall “snacking growth rate” in the U.S. is up 7.2% in legalized recreational marijuana states, the Boston Herald reported.

Debbie Petitpain with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said, “Specifically, we seek highly palatable foods — those high in fat and/or sugar and an enhanced sense of smell and taste further encourage us to consume more.”

The U.S. Census divisions has suggested that legal marijuana could become an economic driver for increased food sales.

Nielsen said that nationally, over a 1-year period, salty snack sales totaled $29.9 billion. Sweet snack sales totaled to $6.5 billion nationally.