Beer and alcohol sales could see a decline in sales through further marijuana legalization, experts believe.

According to a study released in March from the Cannabiz Consumer Group (C2G), researchers found that the beer industry stands to lose about 7 percent of total sale — amounting to around $2 billion — if marijuana is legalized nationally, reports Entrepreneur.

The study also points out that 27 percent of current beer drinkers have already substituted pot for alcohol, or would if legal marijuana was available in their state.

“As legalization extends to additional states, either through medicinal or recreational legislation or both, C2G projects that legal cannabis penetration will settle at a level comparable to that of beer and wine and that a fully mature market would create a new $50 billion industry,” the company said in a statement.

While the popularity of a newly available product is usually considered a novelty, C2G says that’s not the case with cannabis. Their study predicts that sales of wine and spirits will also be affected, as well as bar and pub revenues.

While these numbers may seem like impending doom is nearing the alcohol industry’s doorstep, C2G’s Chief Innovation Officer Rich Maturo believes businesses can still thrive if they accept the new trend of legal weed rather than fight against it.

“Consumers use cannabis to satisfy various social, medical and experiential need states,” Maturo wrote in the study. “By understanding these needs, those at risk of losing sales to cannabis can try to offset some of the losses by understanding and speaking to a consumer’s needs. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that leakage will occur. Those companies that are gathering insights on cannabis and have the foresight to see it as presenting an opportunity in addition to a risk will fare much better than those who strictly take a defensive position.”

The study results come from survey data of more than 40,000 people, as well as over 50 million cannabis transactions.