They include deaths where the primary (or underlying) cause of death listed on the death certificate was one of 58 alcohol-related causes. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped.
Detailing the ‘Real Problem With Legal Weed,’ a Critic Grossly Exaggerates the Prevalence of Pot Addiction
Chronic drinkers display reductions in memory, attention, and planning, as well as impaired emotional processes and social cognition — and these can persist even after years of abstinence. All of this helps prove that marijuana isn’t totally harmless — and some of its risks are likely unknown. 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. It’s how long does ecstasy mdma stay in your system also important to remember that there aren’t many high-quality, long-term studies on weed and its effects. Cannabis is more likely to lead to a use disorder where you are habitually or are psychologically addicted to cannabis and want to use it. Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself.
Is alcohol or marijuana safer?
While the death toll may not be the same, the effect on drivers has been sufficiently observed. It’s illegal to drive under the influence of cannabis or alcohol. While, due to alcohol being legal for decades and drunk driving being illegal for a significant amount of time the law has preset alcohol and migraine drinks to avoid, remedies, and more blood alcohol levels to dictate how much alcohol is too much in your system while driving. However, this is low compared to 40% of all car crashes that directly involve alcohol. Alcohol is not only more addictive it also can cause more lasting damage to your health than cannabis.
Long-Term Effects
Adding alcohol to a low dose of THC impaired driving simulator scores by 21 percent. Adding alcohol to a high dose of THC impaired driving simulator scores by 17 percent. For example, a 1992 study had 15 participants smoke a placebo, a high dose of THC, or a low dose of THC on three occasions. On each occasion, they’d rank a different dose of alcohol, including a placebo, as a low dose or a high dose. However, this study was pretty small, making it hard to draw any firm conclusions.
How Weed and Alcohol Stack Up Against Each Other
Speaking of, let’s examine the addictive tendencies of these substances. Weed can impact your memory and in some severe cases cause or exacerbate schizophrenia or psychosis. Despite there being issues, most issues caused by cannabis can be reversible if you stop using cannabis.
How we should evaluate drugs and the harm they do
There are countless cannabis products on the market and a number of consumption options, from vaping to edibles. Weed may appear to be safer than alcohol simply boosting drug delivery to beat cancer because we aren’t yet aware of certain risks. Sure, research on the topic is ramping up a bit, but there’s still a lack of large, long-term studies.
A few states have legalized both recreational and medicinal marijuana, while others have only legalized medicinal strains. Although research thus far looks promising regarding the effects of legalizing marijuana (decrease in youth usage and increase in revenue from purchases), more research needs to be done before consistent regulation is enacted. There are also more ways to consume marijuana, such as ingesting and inhaling, while alcohol is typically consumed by ingestion via a beverage. Marijuana affects the cardiovascular system, increasing heart rate and blood pressure, but a person can’t fatally overdose on pot like they can with alcohol, Baler said.
All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Where pot is legal, there is still a strong illicit market – well-developed from decades of selling. According to Gray, instead of standing on the ground of reality, we actually stand on the ground of beliefs. Beneath beliefs are conclusions, assumptions, what’s relevant to one’s needs, and our experiences and observations about reality.
Generally speaking, weed tends to come with fewer risks than alcohol, but there are a lot of factors to consider. Plus, they’re unique substances that produce different effects, which makes side-by-side comparisons difficult. Green Health Docs’ mission is to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. As a team of pain medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, and surgeons, we knew that there had to be a better way to help patients.
According to a 2023 report sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, adults ages 35 to 50 are turning to alcohol and marijuana at record levels. Recently, North American edible sales have soared, climbing to more than $3.5 billion in 2022, per the market research firm Global Market Insights. While there’s no arguing both substances are popular and both come with some risks, it’s less clear whether alcohol or edibles consumption is worse for your health. Part of the problem is the challenge of untangling marijuana use from the use of other substances, especially alcohol, Hutchison said. Another problem is determining whether the drug actually causes the brain changes that are observed. There are so many reasons why someone may choose to use alcohol or edibles, and both options aren’t without risk.
Although Lehman does not explicitly address the huge gap between his estimate and earlier calculations, he suggests a possible explanation. Excessive alcohol use can harm people who drink and those around them. You and your community can take steps to improve everyone’s health and quality of life. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. Many people with alcohol use disorder hesitate to get treatment because they don’t recognize that they have a problem.
Before getting into comparing alcohol and weed, it’s important to understand some of the factors that make the comparison tricky. This article has been reviewed by Dr. Anand Dugar, an anesthesiologist, pain medicine physician and the founder of Green Health Docs. Graduating from medical school in 2004 and residency in 2008, Dr. Dugar has been a licensed physician for almost 20 years and has been leading the push for medical cannabis nationwide. One thing that’s clear about the alcohol vs. weed debate is that both should be used responsibly and driving while intoxicated on anything should be avoided at all costs.
- Some people may consider both substances similar because of how they make you feel.
- You and your community can take steps to improve everyone’s health and quality of life.
- Weed is not without its pitfalls but alcohol is by far more problematic.
- When it comes to the possible benefits of marijuana use, however, Thayer and her team note that the jury is still out, and further research is needed to reach some conclusions.
Caulkins and Peter Reuter, a drug policy expert at the University of Maryland, suggested a model in which all the major risks of drugs are drawn out and each drug is ranked within those categories. So heroin would be at or near the top for mortality, alcohol would be at or near the top for cause of violent crime, and tobacco would be at the top for long-term health risks. The idea is lawmakers could look at this model to help decide on an individual basis which policies are better for each drug. «The main risk of cannabis is losing control of your cannabis intake,» Mark Kleiman, a drug policy expert at UCLA, said. «That’s going to have consequences in terms of the amount of time you spend not fully functional. When that’s hours per day times years, that’s bad.»
Additionally, cannabis is not always the only drug or substance that someone might be using. This also skews any data because someone engaged in an accident or having a health issue may have more than cannabis in their system. That roughly translates to cannabis is not directly related to any increase in the chances of death or has a significant impact on your lifespan. Additionally, while you can have a cannabis overdose it’s not remotely fatal while an overdose of alcohol can cause lasting damage and even death. Weed is not without its pitfalls but alcohol is by far more problematic. Alcohol and cannabis are vastly different but often get lumped together because they are intoxicants.
This can increase your risk for developing a dependence on alcohol, weed, or both. Due to the widespread and legal use of alcohol, it is often compared to marijuana, which is illegal in the U.S. Defenders of pot often say it is not as bad as alcohol and alcohol is legal.
The health impact of any drug can depend on how it’s used, who’s using it, how much is used, and under what circumstances. Marijuana and alcohol are no exception, so comparing their level of safety directly is difficult — each possesses the potential for unique risks and benefits. If you’re curious or concerned about how your body might react to either alcohol or marijuana, it may be wise to speak with a health care provider first. Alcohol, tobacco, and prescription painkillers are likely deadlier than other drugs because they are legal, so comparing their aggregate effects to illegal drugs is difficult.
