Some drugs are very harmful to individuals, but they’re so rarely used that they may not be a major public health threat. A few drugs are enormously dangerous in the short-term but not the long-term (heroin), or vice versa (tobacco). And looking at deaths or other harms caused 14 celebrities in recovery by certain drugs doesn’t always account for substances, such as prescription medications, that are often mixed with others, making them more deadly or harmful than they would be alone. Again, there isn’t significant data to point to specific deaths caused solely by weed.

Risk factors

This almost points to the importance of regulation so people can use standardized dosages to track their usage of cannabis. Jeanette Hu, AMFT, based in California, is a former daily drinker, psychotherapist, and Sober Curiosity Guide. She supports individuals who long for a better relationship with alcohol, helping them learn to drink less without living less.

Alcohol ‘more damaging to brain health than marijuana’

“There’s always choices,” Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford University, explained. 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 the textures of heroin crack were legal and more accessible, they would very likely rank higher than alcohol. The harm score for marijuana would also likely rise after legalization, but probably not too much since pot use is already widespread. This may seem like a petty academic squabble, but it’s quite important as researchers and lawmakers try to advance more scientific approaches to drug policy.

Marijuana use had no impact

Remember, consuming weed after drinking alcohol might make you feel less intoxicated, which can lead you to drink more than you usually would. While there’s some research around the effects of drinking alcohol before using weed, there isn’t much about the opposite approach. Finally, an increasingly popular way of consuming cannabis in the past few years is through edibles, which are treats such as gummies or popcorn infused with cannabis. These edibles allow THC to be taken up directly into the body rather than inhaled through the lungs.

Are Edibles Better Than Alcohol?

These beliefs are reinforced by the media’s portrayal of alcohol, societal norms around drinking, and alcohol’s addictive nature. Growing up in a culture that glamorizes drinking, few of us get to form our beliefs about alcohol based on its true nature. Yet, our misguided beliefs shape our perceptions, and our perceptions fuel our desires.

Alcohol or Marijuana: Which is Worse for Your Brain?

Additionally, compounds in cannabis can help prevent some diseases, stunt oxidative damage, and can also help prevent major conditions. Some compounds in cannabis have been found to be anticancer, antibiotic, and antifungal. While there are negative benefits, cannabis does have many medicinal benefits including treatment of pain, nausea, issues with eating or keeping down food, and can help treat anxiety and depression.

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. Perhaps the biggest supporting evidence for this point is a 2010 study published in The Lancet that ranked alcohol as the most dangerous drug in the United Kingdom, surpassing heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana. That study has drawn widespread media attention, appearing in outlets like the Washington Post, the Guardian, the New Republic, and here at Vox. It’s possible to develop an emotional and/or physical dependence on both substances. 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.

Again, a cannabis overdose can cause increased nausea and vomiting but is not fatal. Even heavy marijuana abuse can at worst cause schizophrenia in people with a history of mental illness. Unlike alcohol, Baler said, the effects of chronic marijuana use are not as well established. Animal studies have indicated some possible impact on reproduction. Additionally, there is evidence marijuana can worsen psychiatric issues for people who are predisposed to them, or bring them on at a younger age. Finally, Baler said, because the drug is typically smoked, it can bring on bronchitis, coughing and chronic inflammation of the air passages.

The individual scores account for a host of variables, including mortality, dependence, drug-related family adversities, environmental damage, and effect on crime. Sian Ferguson is a freelance health and cannabis writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She’s passionate about empowering readers to take care of their mental and physical health through science-based, empathetically delivered information.

1. Let’s break down an example to see how this pyramid works in real life.
2. The review looked at published data from nearly 600 studies that comprised data on 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2016.
3. Both can also leave you feeling a bit worse for wear the next day, though this is more likely to happen with alcohol.
4. Before we go further, let’s first discuss the difference between belief and reality.
5. Both weed and alcohol can carry a potential for misuse and addiction, but this appears to be more common with alcohol.
6. She’s passionate about empowering readers to take care of their mental and physical health through science-based, empathetically delivered information.

They did find that recreational sales did not increase crash rates as much as the initial legalization did. 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.

Some people may consider both substances similar because of how they make you feel. People attribute it to be a social lubricant that allows people to stave off social anxiety and be more outgoing and talkative. Excessive alcohol 5 potential dangers of taking suboxone and alcohol together use can cause brain damage and degenerative conditions like Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which can cause severe memory impairment and other cognitive deficits. It can even decrease brain matter and this damage can be permanent.

This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function. Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems. It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male has five or more drinks within two hours or a female has at least four drinks within two hours. Comparing the long-term health effects of alcohol and edibles is a little bit like comparing apples and oranges. Keep in mind that combining the two may be linked to a decline in cognitive function and an increased risk of dependence.

In addition, Hutchison told Live Science, there could be subtle brain changes that the study’s measurements could not capture. The study included the brain images of 853 adults who were aged between 18 and 55 years and 439 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18. Last year, for example, Medical News Today reported on a study linking marijuana use to a greater risk of psychosis in teenagers, while another study claimed that the drug is “worse than cigarettes” for cardiovascular health. Before getting into more about safety, it may be helpful to understand some of the key differences between alcohol and marijuana relating to this discussion. To begin, the alcohol that can be purchased in stores is highly regulated, with a measurement of alcohol by volume printed on each container. Marijuana, on the other hand, has only more recently started to be regulated.

In each session, participants consumed a different combination of placebo, low, and moderate doses of THC and alcohol. Those who consumed just alcohol had worse cognitive functioning than those who only consumed THC. Those who combined the two had reduced cognitive performance than those who only consumed alcohol. Weed appeared to slow down the rise of blood alcohol levels after consuming a high dose of alcohol. Drinking alcohol before using weed can ramp up the effects of THC. But if you’re sensitive to weed or don’t have much experience using it, it’s best to avoid mixing the two.

Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. If you feel that you sometimes drink too much alcohol, or your drinking is causing problems, or if your family is concerned about your drinking, talk with your health care provider. Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. Using weed before drinking alcohol may minimize the effects of alcohol. This means you might be tipsier than you feel, increasing your risk for becoming overly intoxicated. There are limited funds in the public coffer for minimizing the damage of people’s recreational substance use, so focusing on the substance that does the most damage might make sense, Hutchison said.

Although men have historically suffered more health problems from alcohol, a JAMA study published in July found that the rate of increase in alcohol-related deaths is rising faster in women than men, particularly for those 65 and older. In the long term, heavy drinking is responsible for roughly more than 140,000 deaths annually, according to the CDC. But even light to moderate drinking can have hazards, like an increased risk for cancer, for instance. Alcohol is a carcinogen, contributing to 5.6% of cancers and 4% of cancer deaths nationwide, according to the National Cancer Institute, which also points out that as little as one drink a day can increase your cancer odds. Excessive alcohol can also flood the body with toxins that may harm your heart, liver, pancreas, gut, lungs, kidneys and immune system, says the NIAAA.

They tend to be looked upon more favorably by consumers, since you don’t have to smoke them, and they’re not as noticeable as marijuana. Due to the production of edibles and how they’re presented, it can be difficult to understand dosage. Similar to alcohol, it’s possible to consume too much too quickly.