Sunday Morning Chart · August 16, 2026
“Everybody Must Get Stoned”
For years, sales at beer, wine and liquor stores rose almost mechanically with disposable personal income. Then the relationship bent—just as adult-use cannabis legalization began spreading across the map. Coincidence has rarely had better comic timing.
The middle regime is remarkably tight: its fitted line has an R² of 0.988. After 2020, income climbs but alcohol-store sales no longer keep pace with the old trend. Meanwhile, legal cannabis spreads from nine states to twenty-four.
Of course, correlation is not causation. COVID, stimulus, inflation and the return from home drinking to bars all have alibis. Still, the lineup is funny enough to earn a second look.
Sunday verdict: suspiciously well-timed, statistically unconvicted.