For years, sales of domestic light beer—once the undisputed king of American booze—have tanked as imbibers turn to craft brews, wine and spirits. Now an even bigger threat looms: the growing reality of legal, readily available and socially condoned marijuana.
Recreational pot took another step forward Jan. 1, when California—the first state to legalize medical marijuana more than two decades ago—began allowing cannabis retail sales. That doesn’t bode well for Anheuser-Busch InBev or MillerCoors, which has pledged to revitalize Coors Light and Miller Lite this year and next. One industry expert says the beer industry stands to lose 7.1% of its overall sales, or more than $2 billion, as the rest of the country gets on board with legalization. Read more here, from Crain’s Chicago Business.