In an email survey, college students reported that after a blackout they did things that they could not remember, like driving drunk, having unprotected sex, or engaging in risky behavior. A study on marijuana use and intimate partner violence found that couples who used marijuana had lower rates of intimate partner violence in the first 9 years of marriage. In fact, men who used marijuana were the least likely to commit an act of intimate partner violence against a spouse. When it comes to what substance will put someone at risk for getting hurt or hurting others, alcohol is considered to cause the most harm. “In and of itself, it’s not good that more people are using cannabis,” Grinspoon said.
More than 37 percent of people said they used marijuana to help them sleep. Marijuana users were also more likely than alcohol drinkers to say they used marijuana when bored or needed to inspire creativity. A panel of University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine, experts discuss how the use of cannabis and alcohol can be linked to cardiovascular health. If you or someone you love is struggling with substance misuse, help is available and recovery is possible. Professional treatment can change the life of anyone willing to accept help. A caring admissions navigator with American Addiction Centers (AAC) can assist you in finding treatment centers near your location.
Whether there are longer-term impacts on human health than ingesting too much at one sitting and getting an uncomfortable high are unknown. The use of weed to replace alcohol is a growing trend in the United States. In fact, a recent study found — for the first time ever — the daily use of cannabis of any kind among Americans surpassed the daily use of alcohol. After cannabis is ingested, an observable increase in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) occurs in anterior brain regions — which are critical for semantic memory, according to a 2001 study in Neuropsychopharmacology. Although for palliative care, he said, “that would be a different realm of medicine,” in which the goal is to drug a person so they do not feel pain. Because marijuana can impair coordination and balance, there is the risk of hurting oneself, particularly if someone drives or chooses to have unprotected sex while their inhibitions are lowered, Baler said.
Impact on Learning and Memory
However, this study was pretty small, making it hard to draw any firm conclusions. Plus, a similar (but equally small) 2010 study found that alcohol consumption didn’t have much of an effect on THC concentrations. Occasionally mixing alcohol and weed — also known as crossfading — likely won’t lead to major health problems. But there are a lot of variables to consider, including which one you use first and how you consume them.
In states where marijuana is legal, beverages infused with THC or CBD are sold –– here’s what to know.
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. This post will elaborate on the impacts of alcohol vs. weed on your health, body, driving skills, fatality numbers, and the toll they can take on your life.
What are cannabis-infused drinks?
Those products take at least 30 to strongest vodkas 90 minutes to take effect because they must be digested and then processed through your liver, she explains. 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. This means that they can help protect nerve cells from damage which can decrease your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
- 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.
- While, due to alcohol being legal for decades and drunk driving being illegal for a significant amount of time the law has preset blood alcohol levels to dictate how much alcohol is too much in your system while driving.
- Medical cannabis is available in more delivery methods than ever before, such as gummy bears, dried flowers, pills, lotions, drops and a variety of edibles, but what exactly does it do?
- Cannabis on the other hand can make you feel relaxed as well decrease your depression or anxiety.
- These are two areas where people using marijuana could hurt themselves for the short and long term.
Except for going out in public, people were much more inclined to carry on normally if they’d ingested marijuana compared to drinking alcohol. With 6 in 10 respondents willing to drive, people were slightly more likely to do so under the influence of marijuana. It’s also worth noting that field sobriety tests have a harder time picking up traces of marijuana and THC compared to alcohol. Read on as we explore their answers and attitudes toward these substances.
Brandt says research has found cannabis use can cause blood vessel constriction, increase your sympathetic nervous system hormones and are also, in general, pro-inflammatory. Marijuana use, however, appeared to have no impact on the structure of gray or white matter in either teenagers or adults. The team notes that any reduction in the size of white or gray matter or a loss in their integrity can lead to impairments in brain functioning. Gray matter is the tissue on the brain’s surface that primarily consists of nerve cell bodies.
“How much you’re impaired depends on the person, and how much you smoke,” Baler said. 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. But while early studies showed some evidence linking marijuana to lung cancer, subsequent studies have debunked that association. 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. 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.