Analysis of 1911-1925 Bengal district data found people treated alcohol and cannabis bud as substitutes (when one got expensive, they switched to the other) while cannabis leaf complemented alcohol.
Drug policy economists, legalization researchers, historians of drug regulation
Alcohol and cannabis bud were economic substitutes in legal Bengal markets over a century ago
What the researchers found
Alcohol and cannabis bud functioned as economic substitutes; cannabis leaf was a complement to alcohol but a substitute for cannabis bud; alcohol, cannabis bud, and opium all showed negative income elasticity.
Why it matters
Modern legalization debates often ask whether cannabis substitutes for alcohol; this study provides rare data from a period when all three substances were legal and regulated.
The numbers in context
25 districts analyzed over 14 years (1911-1925); three substances examined; negative income elasticity found for alcohol, cannabis bud, and opium.
How the study worked
Economic analysis of district-level consumption data from 25 Bengal districts (1911-1925) examining price elasticity, cross-price elasticity, and income elasticity for alcohol, cannabis (bud and leaf separately), and opium in a legal market.
What this study cannot tell us
Historical data from colonial Bengal may not generalize to modern contexts; district-level data obscures individual behavior; legal and cultural context differed vastly from today; data quality from the period is uncertain.
How to read the evidence
Unique historical dataset spanning 14 years and 25 districts, though colonial-era data collection and vastly different context limit modern applicability.
When this study was published
Published 2025, data from 1911-1925
The bigger picture
The substitution relationship between alcohol and cannabis observed over a century ago in a very different context echoes findings from modern US legalization studies.
Questions still open
- Do modern legal cannabis markets show similar substitution patterns? What explains the negative income elasticity? Would similar analysis of modern multi-substance markets yield comparable results?
Common questions
Were cannabis and alcohol substitutes?
What about cannabis leaf?
Read the original research
Substitution and Complementarity in the Consumption of Alcohol, Cannabis, and Opium.
Health economics, 34(5), 827-854
Citation
Chandra, Siddharth; Doshi, Gaurav. (2025). Substitution and Complementarity in the Consumption of Alcohol, Cannabis, and Opium.. Health economics, 34(5), 827-854. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4938