McDonald's is crushing Taco Bell and Burger King in states that have legalized marijuana

Hollis Johnson

Marijuana customers love McDonald's.

Marijuana consumers prefer McDonald's as their munchies of choice by a huge margin.

Forty-three percent of consumers who purchased marijuana from a dispensary in states where the plant is legal ate at McDonald's restaurants in the past month, according to a new study commissioned by Green Market Report and Consumer Research Around Cannabis as part of their joint "Cannabis Freakonomics" series.

Eighteen percent satisfied their marijuana-induced cravings at Taco Bell, 17.8% chose Wendy's, and 17.6% chose Burger King. Subway came in a distant fifth place, with 8.7% of marijuana consumers reporting they had eaten there in the past four weeks.

In Nevada, where marijuana was legalized in November, Jack-in-the-Box came in a close second to McDonald's - 24.1% of marijuana consumers indicated they ate there within the past four weeks.

Increased appetite is a side effect of consuming marijuana, and it's one of the key areas of research for developing therapeutic drugs based on the plant.

However, Jeff Stein, the Vice President of Consumer Research Around Cannabis, notes that McDonald's win might be by default - it boils down to the number of locations McDonald's has compared to its smaller rivals.

"Those competitors which better understanding cannabis users and their consumer habits can certainly close the gap by integrating what they learn through their marketing efforts," Stein added.

The study was conducted in major markets in Colorado, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington DC, and dove into the spending habits of the people who purchased products from marijuana dispensaries, who represent 8.5% of the US population.

Here's an infographic of the study, courtesy of Green Market Report:

Green Market Report