Although both are intoxicants that alter perception and behavior, the differences between them in terms of health consequences, addiction potential, and societal impact are stark. Health experts advise talking openly with your doctor about any substance use and reviewing your personal risk factors. Even casual cannabis or alcohol use can affect your health. “The gummies, for example, can take as long as an hour and a half to have an effect, but people expecting a quick hit may take more, impacting the effects and even landing in the emergency room,” Cooper said. Bainbridge said people can react to either alcohol or cannabis differently, even in limited amounts.
Alcohol causes over 36,000 deaths annually in the U.S. due to chronic use alone, with the CDC reporting an average of 488 alcohol-related deaths each day between 2020 and 2021. Driving under the influence of cannabis is not safe—but still less deadly than driving under the influence of alcohol. The Institute of Medicine has stated that cannabis use does not appear to increase mortality in the general population. Critically, alcohol overdose can be fatal, whereas cannabis overdose—though it can cause temporary discomfort—is not life-threatening. By Fran KritzKritz is a healthcare reporter with a focus on health policy. New products—such as edibles, beverages, and particularly gummies—can contain high doses of THC, the primary psychoactive compound that makes users “high.”
Alcohol Deaths Vs Weed Deaths
According to the CDC, marijuana overdose fatalities are so uncommon they aren’t officially tracked. If you’ve ever wondered which substance poses greater harm or which is safer for responsible use, this in-depth breakdown will provide clarity. Use limited data to select content. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources.
- Like alcohol, marijuana is also highly accepted socially, which also makes it one of the most highly used illicit drugs.
- Many of the issues have to do with legality and preconceived judgment of cannabis.
- The findings are generally consistent with a similar study published earlier this month that also investigated how cannabis affected alcohol consumption, though with a slightly different experimental design.
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Smoking cannabis lowered alcohol use by 27%
There are countless cannabis products on the market and a number of consumption options, from vaping to edibles. Cannabis may appear to be safer than alcohol simply because researchers aren’t yet aware of certain risks. Before getting into the specifics of alcohol and cannabis, it’s important to understand some of the factors that make the comparison tricky. They’re unique substances that produce different effects, which makes side-by-side comparisons difficult. Cannabis tends to come with fewer risks than alcohol, but there are a lot of factors to consider. High-dose or heavy use would likely increase addiction risk, cannabis hyperemesis, arrhythmias, respiratory issues (if smoked), acute panic, psychosis, cognitive decline, accidents, and intoxication emergencies.
Medical Marijuana: Facts about cannabis, THC, and CBD
For example, smoking is rough on your lungs, but this risk doesn’t apply to edibles. Researchers know much more about alcohol than they do about cannabis. Suppose many more individuals substitute most alcohol with THC beverages. Participants receiving cannabis containing 3.1% THC consumed about 19% less alcohol compared to placebo. After smoking, subjects were exposed to neutral cues and personalized alcohol cues before engaging in an alcohol self-administration task. Investigators enrolled 157 participants who used alcohol and cannabis heavily (at least twice weekly).
Health Effects Of Weed Vs. Alcohol
What is an alcohol overdose compared to a cannabis overdose? Recreational legalization is making cannabis as common as alcohol. Overall, edibles provide a more sustainable, health-conscious option for those seeking relaxation, pain relief, or recreational enjoyment. Long-term use often leads to dependence, and withdrawal can be life-threatening without medical supervision. Laws for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) are well-established, while cannabis impairment laws are still evolving. These include deaths from liver disease, cancer, heart complications, and alcohol-related violence or accidents.
Again, there isn’t significant data to point to specific deaths caused solely by weed. 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. 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. 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. While excessive marijuana use can take a negative toll on your health many of these side effects can be reversible.
Cannabis is quickly becoming a major part of the medical industry offering a homeopathic alternative for pain management, sleep aids, and orexigenics (appetite stimulants). In the end, education and moderation are essential—whatever your substance of choice. It is less addictive, far less lethal, and Weed vs booze holds potential for medical application. With cannabis, tolerance breaks can effectively reset THC sensitivity, making it easier to moderate use over time.
GLP-1 receptor agonists seem particularly promising since a recent randomized controlled trial showed that semaglutide reduced alcohol craving, number of drinks consumed per day, and laboratory self-administration. There is strong evidence that naltrexone reduces heavy-drinking episodes. Those who received 7.2% THC consumed 27% less alcohol. Subjects could consume their preferred alcoholic beverage or receive small cash payments for abstaining.
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People attribute it to be a social lubricant that allows people to stave off social anxiety and be more outgoing and talkative. 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. Additionally, any deficits or issues caused by heavy cannabis use can be reversible. Chronic use of alcohol can cause a physical dependency that will require outside intervention to treat this and help you become sober. Alcohol detox can take a significant amount of time and have heavy withdrawal symptoms, while cannabis withdrawal can last anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks.
Comparing the Potential of Misuse: Alcohol vs. Marijuana
Participants completed three sessions in which they smoked cannabis with either 7.2% THC, 3.1% THC, or a placebo (0.03% THC). Cannabis also has a particular appeal for older adults who want fewer hangover effects and a drink fitting wellness-oriented senior lifestyles. The cannabis products are marketed as “better for you,” without hangovers, with fewer calories or less intoxication (depending on dosage). Consumer enthusiasm is growing for drinks infused with cannabis, primarily Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
- Legalization has provided data points about the potential increase in accidents related to cannabis.
- Chronic alcohol use can lead to liver diseases such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis, gastritis and pancreatitis.
- More Americans now use cannabis daily than drink alcohol every day.
- And when participants were shown visual cues intended to trigger cravings, such as a glass of water followed by their preferred alcoholic drink, marijuana did not appear to have an effect.
- With cannabis, tolerance breaks can effectively reset THC sensitivity, making it easier to moderate use over time.
“Some people say they feel the effects of cannabis-infused drinks within 15 to 20 minutes, which is much faster than when people eat a cannabis gummie or brownie,” says Dr. Gruber. The drinks may also contain caffeine, alcohol, or other substances. The cannabis industry is making marijuana as readily available thanks to recreational legalization; it could be as common as alcohol. Alcohol is everywhere yet we are well aware of the risks and dangers of alcohol use and abuse. However, ultimately cannabis edibles can take less of a toll on your health and provide you with a high or relaxation without causing too much damage to your body or health. Edibles cut down on one of the major issues with cannabis because they don’t require smoking and eliminate many of these risks.
On the surface, cannabis appears to be safer, but there’s simply not enough evidence to declare a winner. There’s a common misconception that cannabis isn’t addictive. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), 28.9 million people ages 12 and up in the United States live with it. Plus, there’s the issue of varying methods of consumption. Both can also leave you feeling a bit worse for wear the next day, though this is more likely to happen with alcohol. If you do get hungover, you might experience other effects, including headaches and diarrhea.
There’s no easy answer to the cannabis versus alcohol debate. Both cannabis and alcohol can carry a potential for misuse and addiction, but this appears to be more common with alcohol. The data suggests that 30% of those who use cannabis may have some degree of cannabis use disorder. It’s possible to develop an emotional or physical dependence on both substances.
Final Verdict: Alcohol or Weed—Which Is Safer?
Additionally, cannabis is not always the only drug or substance that someone might be using. It can be challenging to ascertain how many deaths are caused by cannabis. Alcohol is not only more addictive it also can cause more lasting damage to your health than cannabis. Join over 100,000 patients who have chosen Green Health Docs as their medical cannabis doctors. This post will explore all the differences between these two intoxicants and explore their impact on your health and society at large.
Edibles Vs Alcohol
Cannabis, in contrast, has not been directly linked to any consistent or significant fatality data. This suggests that dosage inconsistency and inexperience may play a larger role than cannabis itself. Importantly, accident rates tend to spike after cannabis legalization but stabilize once regulated sales begin. Still, alcohol remains the primary culprit, implicated in roughly 40% of all fatal traffic accidents in the U.S.