Marking new era (and new generation) substituting marijuana for alcohol?

When I first started paying attention to marijuana reforms and its potential impacts, I recall a number of public health experts suggesting that greater use of marijuana could end up a public health benefit if marijuana was used as a substitute for alcohol, but greater use would likely be a public health problem if used as a supplement to alcohol.  Against that backdrop, all these new press stories about trends in the start of 2024 seemed worth flagging:

From Bloomberg, “Weed Sales Boom in Dry January as People Drink Less“

From Forbes, “Almost Half Of Those Doing Dry January Use Cannabis — Can It Help You Quit Alcohol?“

From Fortune, “Gen Z’s buyers’ strike on alcohol turns ‘Dry January’ into skyhigh new year“

From Kiplinger, “Dry January Can Boost Weed Sales: This Week in Cannabis Investing“

From Modern Retail, “Cannabis beverage brands capitalized on Dry January interest“

From the New York Times, “What Does Being Sober Mean Today? For Many, Not Full Abstinence.“

From Vice, “The Rise of ‘Sober But’, the Dry January Where You Still Do Drugs“