Because some people are stoned a lot of the time, while others may use marijuana only on weekends, the health effects become difficult to generalize. Additionally, researchers looking to study long-term marijuana use have had difficulty in finding people who regularly smoke marijuana but don’t also smoke tobacco cigarettes. And the illegality of marijuana has also limited research in this field. This means that for people taking drugs or medications while drinking, the alcohol can increase or decrease levels of the active drug in the body.
- It can be more habitual or emotional in nature and can be aided by therapy and not necessarily require outside intervention.
- Treating addiction and co-occurring/primary mental health conditions with expert-led, personalized care at beach-side facilities in Malibu.
- After all, you can only purchase cannabis products at dispensaries where in some states you can purchase alcohol in supermarkets.
- Overall, the age-standardized, weighted prevalence of binge drinking was 18.8% and of current marijuana use was 16.6% (Table).
Instead, there’s evidence that this non-intoxicating cannabinoid may be able to treat addiction. A 2015 study, for example, found that CBD may be beneficial in treating opioid, cocaine, tobacco, and even cannabis addiction. Research tells us that THC appears to be responsible for cannabis’ addictive potential due to its effects on the brain’s dopamine system.
Do you smoke weed recreationally? Here’s what experts want you to know.
Too much depressant equals too much GABA activity, which in turn can result in drowsiness, slow reactions, poor coordination, and impaired concentration. Anyone who’s had a little too much weed or alcohol can likely attest to slurred speech, passing out early, maybe stumbling over, and the like. Alcohol may take a greater alcohol and accutane toll on the brain than marijuana does, especially for teens, a new study finds. MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S.
Binge alcohol consumption during the more vulnerable periods of our lives is clearly able to interfere with these critical neural processes and produce significant long-term negative consequences. In spite of many recent advances by laboratories around the world, much remains marijuana withdrawal: symptoms timeline and tips for coping to be investigated regarding the effects of these two commonly consumed chemicals upon the brain. At least next year I’ll have a better answer to my students’ recurring question. “Generally cannabis is safer than alcohol, especially if used responsibly,” says Grinspoon.
Alcohol versus pot
The researchers reported that combining THC and alcohol consistently impaired driving performance, with worse performance during nighttime simulations. But if you’re sensitive to weed or don’t have much experience using it, it’s best to avoid mixing the two. It’s also important to remember that people can have very different reactions to the same mix of alcohol and weed. If you’re out in a group, one person’s reaction might be very different than yours.
Higher risk of dependence
It’s also important to remember that there aren’t many high-quality, long-term studies on weed and its effects. If you do get hungover, you might experience other effects, including headaches and diarrhea. For example, one person may have a very low tolerance for weed but be able to tolerate alcohol well. Another person might not have any issues with misusing alcohol but still find it hard to function without weed. There are countless cannabis products on the market and a number of consumption options, from vaping to edibles.
Legalization has provided data points about the potential increase in accidents related to cannabis. The CDC reports that nearly 88,000 alcohol-related overdose deaths occur each year. On the other hand, low to moderate drinking — about one drink a day — has been linked with a lower risk of heart attack and stroke compared with abstention. James Nicholls, a director at Alcohol Research UK, told The Guardian that those findings should be taken with a grain of salt since “any protective effects tend to be canceled out by even occasional bouts of heavier drinking.” The review looked at published data from nearly 600 studies that comprised data on 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2016.
Chronic or excessive alcohol consumption is known to affect balance and disrupts normal walking patterns. This is because alcohol can damage parts of the brain responsible for coordination, including the cerebellum. Akin to this, cannabis use can also affect coordination and motor skills because THC can interfere with the functioning of specific sections of the brain like the cerebellum and the basal ganglia. It’s possible to develop an emotional and/or physical dependence on both substances. The question policy experts typically ask isn’t which drug is more dangerous, but how marijuana and alcohol should be treated through policy as individual drugs with their own set of unique, complicated risks. That doesn’t mean just legalization or prohibition, but regulation, taxes, and education as well.
Many of the issues have to do with legality and preconceived judgment of cannabis. Alcohol has been legal significantly longer compared to cannabis and some of these stigmas can impact people’s judgment about cannabis use. Prolonged alcohol use can lead to physical dependence, where the body becomes reliant on alcohol to function normally.This can cause the shakes and can affect your ability to lead a normal life. Over time, it can temporarily decrease the prevalence of CB1 receptors which can cause memory issues but, overall, the compounds in cannabis including many of the terpenes can be neuroprotective.
Some compounds in cannabis have been found to be anticancer, antibiotic, and antifungal. While there are negative benefits, cannabis does have many medicinal benefits including treatment of pain, nausea, issues with eating or keeping down food, and can help treat anxiety and depression. Alcohol is legal and can be purchased almost anywhere and everywhere. While both are intoxicants they can affect the body differently and can also impact your health differently. Excessive alcohol use can cause brain damage and degenerative conditions like Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which can cause severe memory impairment and other cognitive deficits.
If you drink during pregnancy, you are at risk for having a child born with physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities—these are called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). According to the CDC, there is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to consume during pregnancy. When both alcohol and drugs are in the system, the risk of having a fatal car accident is especially high. “The risk from driving under the influence of both alcohol and cannabis is greater than the risk of driving under the influence of either alone,” the authors of a 2009 review wrote in the American Journal of Addiction.
Alcohol is everywhere yet we are well aware of the risks and dangers of alcohol use and abuse. The cannabis industry is making marijuana as readily available thanks to recreational legalization; it could be as common as alcohol. While there are some issues to the abuse of cannabis they are nowhere near as hazardous as alcoholism and the toll of alcohol on the body.