The Facts About Cannabis vs. Alcohol And What You Should Consider

This article first appeared in GreenState.

Drinking alcohol socially or for relaxation is part of human culture, but there is a new elixir in town, and it’s called cannabis. The legalization of cannabis has presented a new way to unwind, and people are curious.

Even though there is solid evidence that alcohol is a toxin and damaging to the body, including the risk of addiction, many continue to use it. But is cannabis a safer solution?

The lack of federal legalization makes obtaining cannabis for medical research challenging, and the little clinical data that has been reported is conflicting.

Many agree both cannabis and alcohol are considered “drugs” and can negatively affect the brain with excessive or chronic use.

Addiction vs. Dependency

Addiction refers to the destructive behavior of people who abuse substances and can’t resist the urge to consume. It has caused millions to lose their jobs, ruin relationships, and act abusively toward others.

Dependency is the physiological effect substance abuse can have on your body that will likely cause withdrawals to various degrees when you stop using it.

Regular cannabis users often discuss the importance of taking “THC breaks” to avoid dependency and tolerance build-up. Insomnia, restless sleep, and irritability are typical withdrawal symptoms someone may have when trying to break free from cannabis dependency.

Getting “hooked on alcohol” has a much worse outcome when someone becomes addicted or dependent. It’s a battle millions suffer from and is considered a chronic brain disease that overpowers your ability to resist alcohol and requires you to have more.

The World Health Organization states, “Alcohol is a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence-producing properties.”

Drunk vs. High

Have you ever seen anyone initiate a brawl or act aggressively after consuming cannabis? The effects on someone’s personality vary drastically between alcohol and cannabis. The American Society of Addiction notes a correlation between excessive alcohol use and violence, whereas cannabis usually has the opposite effect.

Can It Cause Overdose or Death?

No one has reportedly died from a cannabis overdose, but it doesn’t mean you can’t consume too much to make you feel bad. Start low and go slow are the recommended dosing guidelines for cannabis consumption.

According to The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 385 Americans die of excessive alcohol use every day! Alcohol causes 13.5% of deaths among 20- to 39-year-olds, but even worse, 10.2% of Americans aged 12 years and older had Alcohol Use Disorder in 2020.

The Affects On The Brain

Both alcohol and cannabis are mind-altering substances that affect the brain’s frontal lobe, which results in impaired cognitive function and altered behavior. Although, the exact effects can vary depending on dose, frequency, duration of use, and a person’s sensitivity to these substances.

Well-documented clinical trials confirm alcohol’s harmful damage to your body and brain. Scientists at the University of Colorado reviewed existing imaging data on the effects of alcohol vs. cannabis on the brain. Their findings linked alcohol consumption with long-term changes to the structure of white and gray matter in the brain. The use of marijuana, however, seemed to have no significant long-term effects on brain structure, according to this study.

A similar study in an article published by Harvard Medical School discusses an investigation to study medical cannabis patients over a long period led by neuroscientist Staci Gruber, a Harvard Medical School associate professor of psychiatry. Dr. Gruber’s team documented its effects on cognition, brain structure, and function and found no change to white and gray matter in the brain.

Consuming cannabis under the age of 25 is not recommended by most medical professionals. The American Heart Association warns that the brain is still developing, and its effects have not been studied.

Are There Health Benefits?

Any doctor will tell you that eating healthy and exercising is the best medicine and everything else should be done in moderation.

Many claims have been made, including one from the Mayo Clinic, that alcohol consumption in small amounts can be good for stress and heart health. The National Library of Medicine warns that alcohol is ethanol, a toxic substance that, when ingested in large quantities, is clinically harmful and can cause death. The World Health Organization stated that “The harmful use of alcohol causes a high burden of disease and has significant social and economic consequences.”

And for cannabis, while the long-term effects of use need more research, the most promising scientific breakthrough came in 1992 with the discovery of the human endocannabinoid system (ECS), where we learned that our body’s health and wellness depend on it. Think of the endocannabinoid system as the body’s command center that keeps our body in homeostasis by regulating other systems like the nervous system, digestive tract, brain, hormones, immune system, bones & skin, liver, and heart.

The most remarkable part of this discovery is how phytocannabinoids, which naturally occur in cannabis plants, also mimic the behavior of cannabinoid compounds found in the human endocannabinoid system! Miraculously, both human and plant-based cannabinoids function the same way and provide similar health benefits to the body!

More research is needed to verify how cannabis consumption can boost our endocannabinoid system. As states legalize, more research will become available similar to the recently established cannabis-specific medical research center at the University of Utah.

Decades of research and clinical trials have proven the dangerous effects of too much alcohol. While more research is needed to determine the adverse health effects of cannabis, its worth noting that people have been smoking it for centuries without exhibiting destructive addiction and dependency behavior.

Is cannabis a better alternative to alcohol? It all depends.