CONVENIENCE STORES AND POT: IS THERE A CONNECTION?

CONVENIENCE STORES AND POT: IS THERE A CONNECTION?

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Could the popularity of marijuana be responsible for the success of convenience stores? It's possible, according to Saul Rubin, author of the new book "Offbeat Marijuana" (Santa Monica Press). Rubin says the rise in popularity of convenience stores in the 1970s may be related to the increase of marijuana use during the same period. The theory is that stoners on midnight munchie trips made a beeline for 24-hour markets like 7-11, and the pot heads became a pot of gold for the owners of the shops. However, a spokesperson for the 7-11 chain thinks Rubin is a little off base. The company claims 24-hour stores became successful because more people began working night jobs in the '70s -- not because potheads were craving potato chips and candy bars.

CONTACT: Saul Rubin, ****; Arrange with Jeffrey Goldman; Santa Monica, CA; (310) 395-4658; Margaret Chabris, **** (7-11); Dallas, TX; (214) 828-7285