Alcohol vs Marijuana: Is One Safer Than the Other?

A lot of research has also linked adolescent marijuana use with a range of negative consequences, including cognitive deficiencies and worse educational outcomes. While it’s not clear whether marijuana’s role with these outcomes is cause-and-effect, experts generally agree that people younger than their mid-20s should avoid pot. Although drug policy experts generally don’t dispute the assertion that alcohol is more dangerous than pot, the study, led by British researcher David Nutt, is quite controversial. Experts see the rankings as deeply flawed, largely because they present the harms that come from drugs in a rather crude, one-dimensional manner. As with the short-term effects of alcohol and weed, the long-term effects differ from person to person.

Edibles Vs Alcohol

“Excess alcohol is going to lead to very severe consequences, and chronic excess alcohol is the most likely to lead to a lot of threatening issues,” Murray said. Since 2012 when voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana, and subsequently seven other states followed, science has been trying to catch up to the law. Years of studies on excessive alcohol use demonstrates its negative effects on brain and general health. Moderate alcohol consumption may have cardiovascular benefits but excessive drinking can put you at an increased risk of high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmias. Overall, cannabis use can be healthier and less addictive than alcohol use. Many of the issues have to do with legality and preconceived judgment of cannabis.

It’s a tough call, but based on the peer-reviewed science, there appears to be a clear answer. Cannabis on the other hand can make you feel relaxed as well decrease your depression or anxiety. With proper tolerance breaks, you can lower your tolerance of THC and become less reliant on large amounts of cannabis to feel the same way and regulate your cannabis use. Blending modern and traditional approaches, a residential treatment center addressing substance use disorders with equine therapy in Scottsdale, Arizona.

No matter how safe a substance seems, addiction is always possible. Both weed and alcohol can carry a potential for misuse and addiction, but this appears to be more common with alcohol. There is also a need for more research into the interaction between alcohol and cannabis, Hutchison said, especially because people who use these substances tend to use both. Alcohol is more likely than marijuana to interact with other drugs. “You can die binge-drinking five minutes after you’ve been exposed to alcohol. That isn’t going to happen with marijuana,” said Ruben Baler, a health scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. On the other hand, self-harm and suicide are much more common among people who binge drink or drink frequently.

Several studies link alcohol with violence, particularly at home. That has not been found for cannabis.

It can even decrease brain matter and this damage can be permanent. It can damage brain cells and lead to deficiencies in neurotransmitters. It affects gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which can cause relaxation but long term use of alcohol can affect your levels of GABA or glutamate sanjai thankachen in the nervous system. Alcohol can lower inhibitions but it can also impair judgment, coordination, and memory. Alcohol on the other hand can heavily impact your cognitive function.

1. Depending on your genetics, your drinking habits, and other factors, it could take several years or just a few months for you to need treatment.
2. Cannabis addiction is surprisingly common, however, according to 2015 study.
3. But it’s up to you to decide if marijuana products will benefit you in the long run.
4. Many of the issues have to do with legality and preconceived judgment of cannabis.
5. Thankfully, as more states legalize cannabis and recreational sales we can observe more data about the effect on death and accident rates.

But just about any substance can be addictive11—even seemingly harmless ones like caffeine or ibuprofen. The drug policy experts I talked to about Nutt’s study generally agreed that his style of analysis and ranking misses some of the nuance behind the harm of certain drugs. The analysis doesn’t fully account for a drug’s legality, accessibility, or how widely a drug is used. If heroin and crack were legal and more accessible, they would very likely rank higher than alcohol.

That’s why we have a comprehensive set of treatment providers and don’t charge for inclusion. We do not and have never accepted fees for referring someone to a particular center. Providers who advertise with us must be verified by our Research Team and we clearly mark their status as advertisers. Recognizing when to seek help for marijuana or alcohol abuse can be challenging.

Considering the statistics you just read about marijuana-based crashes, 40 percent of car crash deaths in the US involve alcohol, and 30 percent of deaths involve alcohol above the legal limit for driving. However, this is low compared to 40% of all car crashes that directly involve alcohol. This post will explore all the differences between these two intoxicants and explore their impact on your health and society at large. Whether marijuana is more addictive than alcohol is a complex question, and there’s no simple answer. On the surface, cannabis might seem like a medicine that does more good than harm.

Don’t beat yourself up about what you eat. Instead, cultivate a positive relationship with food.

There currently isn’t a Blood Marijuana Level federally recognized but as vanderburgh house more states adjust to legal cannabis use we can have clearer and more stringent measures to monitor driving while intoxicated on cannabis. Suffice to say that alcohol causes more deaths due to violence, accidents, car crashes, and disease than cannabis to the point where there are ever-growing statistics tracking these numbers. While there is the possibility for occasional deaths and accidents caused by cannabis use there isn’t sufficient data to compare it to alcohol.

Marijuana appears to be significantly less addictive than alcohol.

Vox is here to explain this unprecedented election cycle and help you understand the larger stakes. We will break down where the candidates stand on major issues, from economic policy to immigration, foreign policy, criminal justice, and abortion. We’ll answer your biggest questions, and we’ll explain what matters — and why. Cannabis addiction is surprisingly common, however, according to 2015 study.

Compared with sober participants, the intoxicated volunteers were found to have reduced functioning foods that contain alcohol in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain linked with moderating social behavior. Kent Hutchison, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder and co-director of the CU Change Lab, co-authored a study that serves as a conversation starter for which substance is worse. In the study, published in the journal Addiction, researchers looked at brain scans of 853 adults between the ages of 18 and 55 and 439 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18. Alcohol is also highly addictive and over time addiction can increase your chances of developing health issues and even a physical dependency.

There probably isn’t a perfect way to evaluate and present all drug harms. Researchers will always need to balance making information simple and accessible for policymakers and the public with the inherent complexity of drugs and their effects. This makes the task of building scientific drug policies very challenging. Drug experts broadly agree that individuals and society would arguably be better off if marijuana became the most accepted recreational intoxicant of choice instead of alcohol.

What other drug experts say about the UK study

It can overall slow your reaction time and your general perception of time and distance which can increase your likelihood of getting into an accident. Thankfully, as more states legalize cannabis and recreational sales we can observe more data about the effect on death and accident rates. One study examined these data points exploring when cannabis was legalized vs. when retail sales began. It can be challenging to ascertain how many deaths are caused by cannabis. While there can be the odd allergic reaction or bad interaction or even a child may inadvertently consume cannabis, there isn’t sufficient data to point towards any deaths caused by cannabis.