But cigarette smoking plays a complicated role in studying the impact of marijuana smoke, Baler said. Marijuana smokers tend to smoke much less than cigarette smokers, as some how long does cymbalta withdrawal last may smoke one joint a few times a week. But while early studies showed some evidence linking marijuana to lung cancer, subsequent studies have debunked that association.
Our clinicians have all been hand-selected and personally trained eco sober house by Dr. Amen, whose mission is to end mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health. Over the last 30-plus years, ACI has built the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—over 250,000 SPECT scans on patients from 155 countries—related to how people think, feel, and behave. Young adults and older folks who use cannabis regularly are also vulnerable to these mental health problems because of the effects of marijuana on the brain—even in those who might not have cannabis use disorder.
Alcohol and cannabis are vastly different but often get lumped together because they are intoxicants. The way they make you feel may make them seem similar but their impact on your body and any lasting damage are not remotely the same. “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. The US Department of Health lists alcohol as a known human carcinogen. Research highlighted by the National Cancer Institute suggests that the more alcohol you drink — particularly the more you drink regularly — the higher your risk of developing cancer.
They ultimately found a 5.8% increase in injury crash rates and a 4.1% increase in fatal crash rates when comparing the data of cannabis being legalized and when states opened recreational sales. They did find that recreational sales did not increase crash rates as much as the initial legalization did. 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.
Does Alcohol Increase Dopamine?
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 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.
Which is worse? Alcohol or marijuana?
Getting drunk or high can feel similar to some people, while others describe the sensations as very different. Of course, the way you feel when you’re intoxicated also depends on how much of the substance you consume. Weed may appear to be safer than alcohol simply because we aren’t yet aware of certain risks. 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. Cannabis on the other hand can make you feel relaxed as well decrease your depression or anxiety. It’s important to note that when cannabis gets legalized many people may use cannabis semi-legally by consuming illegally purchased cannabis which can lead to them consuming more than standard dosages.
Long-term health risks
Another problem is determining whether the drug actually causes the brain changes that are observed. Similar to drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana results in intoxication and users report feelings of happiness, confusion, relaxation, impulsiveness and hunger. The research on other health effects of marijuana is inconclusive but should warrant some caution. One study linked the use of potent marijuana to psychotic disorders, but other studies suggest people with psychotic disorders may be predisposed to pot use. Research on whether smoked marijuana causes lung disease or cancer has yielded conflicting results, with studies that control for tobacco smoking finding no significant effect from marijuana on lung cancer risk. 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.
- Public health researchers have said studying rates of injuries, accidents, mental illness and teen use in the wake of the new laws will lead to a better understanding of marijuana’s public health effects.
- The research shouldn’t be taken as the be-all and end-all in the great debate over whether cannabis is bad for the brain.
- Unlike alcohol, which slows your heart rate, marijuana speeds it up, which could negatively affect the heart in the short term.
- People’s responses to each substance can vary greatly, so what seems safer for one person might not work for someone else.
Marijuana appears to be significantly less addictive than alcohol.
Finally, Baler said, because the drug is typically smoked, it can bring on bronchitis, coughing and chronic inflammation of the air passages. While both are intoxicants used recreationally, their legality, patterns of use and long-term effects on the body make the two drugs difficult to compare. 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. The pot smokers’ brains did not show a reduction or change in either gray or white matter in Hutchison’s study. When gray and white brain matter is reduced, cognitive impairment and memory loss can occur.
However, dosing with edibles can be imperfect and take time to ascertain so when using edibles it’s best to pace yourself and examine how you feel. 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. While there are negative benefits, cannabis does have many medicinal benefits including treatment your bac depends on of pain, nausea, issues with eating or keeping down food, and can help treat anxiety and depression. Cannabis has been found to potentially increase your chances of developing anxiety, paranoia, and psychotic symptoms.There is ongoing research on the relationship between marijuana use and mental health disorders. 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.
Alcohol and marijuana are both intoxicants, but one study from Columbia University researchers estimated that alcohol multiplies the chance of a fatal traffic accident by nearly 14 times, while marijuana nearly doubles the risk. 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. There’s a delay in when you feel edibles because it can take time for the THC to be absorbed into your bloodstream.
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