If one of our articles is marked with a ‘reviewed for accuracy and expertise’ badge, it indicates that one or more members of our team of doctors and clinicians have reviewed the article further to ensure accuracy. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care. There are numerous testimonials on the internet claiming that the combination made the experience both better and worse than using either drug alone. This makes predicting how the combination might affect mood or thinking exceptionally difficult.
Starting Your Canna Drink Experience
Consuming weed and alcohol together is common, especially among young adults and college students. The order in which people take the two substances may affect the experience and, if not taken responsibly, could also increase the risk of overconsumption. Marijuana and alcohol are both very popular in the United States, but the effects of combining the two remain unknown to many. Mixing weed and alcohol can be dangerous as it can cause you to become more intoxicated than you intend. Not everyone experiences green outs, and the symptoms an individual experiences depends entirely on their unique physiology, how experienced they are with using weed and how potent their weed was. In most cases, greening out after consuming weed by itself is unpleasant but not necessarily dangerous, and no deaths have ever been recorded.
Find Support For Alcohol And Drug Abuse
If you are concerned about your level of alcohol or cannabis use, seek treatment from a mental health provider who works with substance use issues. This treatment may include formal treatment, such as rehab, and community resources, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). This is the case even if you use medical marijuana since THC and alcohol have been found to interact.1 It is not currently known if there is any completely safe level of alcohol and THC in the brain’s cannabinoid system. However, use of edibles with alcohol could be unpredictable as many people do not feel the effects of the THC for a long period of time. This may lead to eating more of the edibles or drinking more alcohol—which could increase the severity of the alcohol interaction—or mean that the interaction occurs when you don’t expect it to.
Side Effects of Marijuana
Marijuana can be consumed in many ways; it can be smoked, vaporized, rubbed on the skin, or added to food. Depending on the method in which marijuana is consumed, the user can start feeling effects within minutes. The best thing to do if you have a bad reaction from drinking too much alcohol is alcohol withdrawal seek emergency medical attention. Research indicates that there is an association between frequent heavy alcohol use and poor mental health, including psychological distress and low life satisfaction. A number of recent studies also focus on how combining weed and alcohol affects your driving.
- Further, if you try to cut back on either alcohol or cannabis, your reliance on the other substance is likely to increase.
- Over time, chronic exposure to alcohol contributes to elevated endocannabinoid levels, which in turn leads to downregulation of the cannabinoid receptor signaling [58, 64].
- Similar to cannabis, a number of variables means some individuals may be more likely to become addicted to alcohol than others.
- Jeanette Hu, AMFT, based in California, is a former daily drinker, psychotherapist, and Sober Curiosity Guide.
- Findings can be used to develop and refine intervention strategies to successfully reduce cannabis and alcohol co-use.
If you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol and cannabis (in any form) please call and speak to a member of our Delamere team for immediate and confidential, expert addiction advice. If you are smoking weed and drinking at the same time, there are some dangers that you are perhaps not aware of. 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 may smoke one joint a few times a week.
How do the effects of cannabis drinks compare with alcoholic drinks?
Today, into the fourth year of my sobriety and working as a sober, curious guide, I am still sometimes struck by how stark the gap between our beliefs and reality can be when it comes to alcohol. However, the good news is that within that gap also lies the key to weakening our desire to drink. She decided she wanted her own venue, and founded Baldwin Provisions, a cannabis dispensary located on 23 acres. A former gun and golf driving range, the property is already fenced in and can accommodate up to 25,000 people, she estimates. Our private and purpose built treatment facility offers first class treatment and accommodation to anyone suffering from addiction.
Both studies are preliminary research on posters presented at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting is in Chicago, July 22–25, 2024, and offers the latest research on innovations and discovery in cardiovascular science. There is limited scientific evidence on how taking cannabis before drinking alcohol affects the body and mind.
We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Using substances to cope with negative feelings may be a sign of a substance use disorder or an alcohol use disorder. Drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time can lead to alcohol poisoning, where critical parts of the brain that control breathing, heart rate, and temperature can shut down, leading to death.
Typically, 1 or 2 drinks will produce feelings of relaxation and reduced inhibitions; more drinks can lead to negative side effects. The effects of alcohol are influenced by the height, weight, gender, and tolerance of the person drinking as well as factors like if they have eaten or not before drinking. Someone drinking alcohol may experience slurred speech, distorted vision and hearing, drowsiness, and nausea and vomiting. Long-term alcohol use can result in heart-related diseases, liver disease, and unintentional injuries.
Drinking can lead to alcoholic liver disease, which can progress to fibrosis of the liver, which in turn can potentially lead to liver cancer, Murray said. You might not think marijuana and quizzes go together, but on the assumption that you arrived at this quiz sober, we pose some serious questions that will require your utmost attention and critical thinking skills. Tishler believes a better question is not which substance is more addictive, but how we use them. Tishler emphasizes that understanding addiction is nuanced, and it can be helpful to distinguish addiction from dependence. While some CBD products are being marketed for their health benefits, the FDA is continuing to research CBD.5 The FDA has not endorsed any CBD formula for medical or therapeutic use. At the same time, CBD can have a relaxing, sedative effect, which could potentially be heightened if taking a depressant like alcohol.
When weed is inhaled, THC is released into the bloodstream very quickly, but if it’s ingested in food or drink, it can take longer to feel its effects. Those who are sensitive to weed or who don’t have much experience using it may want to avoid mixing weed and alcohol, as they’re more likely to experience unpleasant side effects. People may use alcohol and marijuana together, but their combined effects can increase your risk of higher THC levels, greater impairment and alcohol poisoning. Starting low and going slow is important in avoiding any adverse effects of mixing weed and alcohol.
Diverse factors, such as age, mental health, and personal circumstances, also interlock together to influence the relationship we develop with these two substances. It’s vital to be aware of the risk factors that can inflate the likelihood of addiction or harm occurring for you, and take precautions to prevent unwanted outcomes. Both can be used to help people mellow out, calm nerves, and relax muscles. These effects occur because both alcohol and weed belong to the depressant class of drugs (though weed falls into several other drug categories too). In a small clinical study that was conducted in 2015, researchers studied the effects of combining alcohol with THC. Used alone, either substance can be used in moderation without significant long-term effects.
If you’ve mixed weed and alcohol and are having a bad reaction, it’s probably because alcohol seems to make the high from using weed stronger. This can happen any marijuana withdrawal: symptoms timeline and tips for coping time you’ve consumed to much weed — with or without alcohol. This means you might be tipsier than you feel, increasing your risk for becoming overly intoxicated.
Your body, therefore, absorbs it more slowly, leading to lower blood alcohol levels. If weed use does slow down the increase in blood alcohol levels, this may cause people to drink more than usual. In turn, this could increase risky behavior and the likelihood of alcohol poisoning. The long-term use of both alcohol and weed may cause structural changes in the brain, with a combination of these drugs leading to more prominent effects. Researchers have found that heavy weed users who drink alcohol have worse cognitive functioning than people who only consume alcohol. Like edibles, it takes longer to feel the effects of cannabis “drinkables” than when smoking marijuana.
The studies that have been conducted have only examined drinking alcohol first and then using weed. These studies are mostly pre-2000 and include small numbers of participants, but they may provide some preliminary insight into how mixing weed and alcohol at different times affects the side effects. Compared to solely drinking alcohol, using the two substances at the same time doubled the odds of drunk driving, social consequences, and harms to self. Those who used alcohol and marijuana were more likely to drive unsafely than those who used alcohol and marijuana separately.
As for marijuana, whose legalization for medical uses has been a matter of strong public policy debate for years, there is ample evidence that beneficial compounds can be found in the plant. The degree to which weed or alcohol is addictive–or harmful–cannot be reduced to a single factor. While there’s evidence that weed is comparatively less addictive and less harmful than alcohol, that doesn’t mean it can be used recklessly. While there’s no clear cut answer, there are several contributing factors worth exploring. However, alcohol has another neurochemical avenue through which it can create addiction—endorphins.
In contrast, cannabinoid receptor agonists and endocannabinoids serve to escalate alcohol-seeking behavior and consumption [63, 64]. Over time, chronic exposure to alcohol contributes to elevated endocannabinoid levels, which in turn leads to downregulation of the cannabinoid receptor signaling [58, 64]. Overall, these findings from preclinical research support the existence of potential cross-tolerance between cannabis and alcohol and have important translational implications for clinical research. The short-term effects of alcohol can include impaired cognitive function, slowed reaction times, and altered mood.
Marijuana and alcohol are the two most commonly used drugs in the nation, and people often use the substances together. Too much of a good thing can be a real bummer, even if the worst thing that happens is a bad hangover (or a bad “weedover”). Luckily, this is easy to avoid by just knowing your limits and not overdoing it. If you’re going to use alcohol and cannabis together, we recommend starting low and going slow.
However, when mixed together, alcohol and marijuana can create unpleasant side effects. Over a long period of time, regular marijuana use can affect the individual’s physical and mental health. Patients with certain medical conditions, such as liver disease or mental health disorders, should also exercise caution when consuming both substances. It is always recommended to consult with a healthcare provider before consuming alcohol and cannabis together. The potency of either substance can also impact the level of alcohol use disorder diagnosis and treatment concentration in your blood.8 For instance, a beer has lower alcohol per volume and you tend to drink it more slowly than a shot.
