Cannabis Consumers Prefer McDonald’s, Study Suggests
“The munchies” can be a compelling force. According to a new study from Green Market Report and in conjunction with Consumer Research Around Cannabis, cannabis consumers prefer McDonald’s over other restaurants.
Researchers surveyed some 27,500 people in the legal cannabis markets in Denver, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Portland and Washington D.C. According to the findings, 43.4 percent of cannabis consumers said they had visited McDonald’s in the last four weeks, much more than any other fast food restaurant. 18.3 percent said they visited Taco Bell, 17.8 percent said they had visited Wendy’s, 17.6 percent said they had visited Burger King and only 8.7 percent said they had visited Subway.
Honorable mentions in the top ten include Kentucky Fried Chicken, Arby’s, Chick-Fil-A, Jack-In-The-Box and Carl’s Jr., in that order.
The numbers don’t reflect the size of the actual chains. Subway is by far the largest fast food chain in the world, since surpassing McDonald’s in 2010. There are 24,722 Subway franchises in the United States and only 14,098 McDonald’s franchises, as of 2014. But McDonald’s food beats Subway as munchies material.
Last July, a rogue McDonald’s franchise unveiled a billboard that read, “Usually, when you roll something this good, it’s illegal!” But corporate McDonald’s wasn’t laughing. Taco Bell, some would argue, indirectly markets to cannabis consumers with egg and Doritos taco shells, and even a Lyft program “Taco Mode” that allows riders to request a designated drive-thru run.
Little is understood about the munchies, however, a study attempted to break it down. THC harmlessly convinces the brain that the body is starved for food. However, alcohol also induces the munchies, aptly renamed “the drunchies,” because of the way alcohol interacts with neurons in the brain.
Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Taco Bell owe part of their ongoing success to cannabis consumers, whether they’d like to admit it or not. Let’s not beat around the bush anymore.
