While one person might feel relaxed while drunk, another might feel restless. With proper tolerance breaks, you can lower your tolerance of THC and become less reliant on large amounts of cannabis to feel the same way and regulate your cannabis use.
General Health
It’s possible to develop an emotional and/or physical dependence on both substances. As with the short-term effects of alcohol and weed, the long-term effects differ from person to person. Alcohol is also highly addictive and over time addiction can increase your chances of developing health issues and even a physical dependency. 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. Overall, cannabis use can be healthier and less addictive than alcohol use. Many of the issues have to do with legality and preconceived judgment of cannabis.
How we should evaluate drugs and the harm they do
Although Nutt couldn’t get funding to do an analysis in the US or Canada, he said a similar study is being published later this year assessing drug use in several countries in Europe. The analysis may be flawed, but its simplicity and accessibility have won over many policy circles. On the surface, weed appears to be safer, but there’s simply not enough evidence to declare a winner. Alcohol can contribute to social and behavioral issues, including aggression, mood swings, outbursts, relationship issues, and legal troubles. Cannabis on the other hand can make you feel relaxed as well decrease your depression or anxiety.
Health Effects Of Weed Vs. Alcohol
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. 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). Part of the problem is the challenge of untangling marijuana use from the use of other substances, especially alcohol, Hutchison said. 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.
Cannabis also has health and medical benefits which include reducing pain, improving sexual libido, treating inflammation, and acting as neuroprotectants. Alcohol has more far-reaching consequences because it is consumed by so many more people. However, marijuana users—including medical marijuana users—are at higher risk when it comes to the direct impact of cannabis on brain development and brain aging. Cymbalta is a drug used for several purposes, including anxiety, depression, and chronic pain — conditions that also appear on many state lists of approved uses for medical marijuana. Patients who have been prescribed Cymbalta may have questions about whether the drug can be taken alongside medical marijuana or if medical cannabis can serve as a replacement for Cymbalta. In this article, we’ll help you find answers to those questions and more.
All of this helps prove that marijuana isn’t totally harmless — and some of its risks are likely unknown. 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. Jon Caulkins, a drug policy expert at Carnegie Mellon University, gave the example of an alien race visiting Earth and asking which land animal is the biggest.
- “How much you’re impaired depends on the person, and how much you smoke,” Baler said.
- One of the major components of marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), was found to reduce anxiety in clinical trial subjects.
- Just one drink a day can raise blood pressure, trigger a dangerous irregular heartbeat or even shrink your brain, studies have found.
- However, combining the two substances can result in both potential benefits and risks.
It is estimated that around 22.2 million people in the United States have used marijuana in the past month, making it “the most commonly used illicit drug” in the country. 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. “Researchers are working around the clock to try to identify the ingredients in marijuana that have potential,” to benefit human health, Baler said. “You’re cumulatively impairing your cognitive function. What’s going to be the ultimate result, nobody can say.”
American Addiction Centers offers a host of treatment options, from detox and inpatient rehab to intensive outpatient care and family can drug dogs detect nicotine interventions, that are designed to meet the unique needs of each individual. “We have to have a conversation. There are risks and benefits, and in moderation everything is fine.” “On the other hand, the number of crimes that are committed that have some sort of alcohol component related to them are massive — hundreds of thousands a year, if not more,” he said. The study was published in the December issue of the journal Addiction.
If you deal with increased depression when you take it, contact your doctor or pharmacist right away. Cymbalta, also known as duloxetine, is a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). As the name implies, SNRIs increase the serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain.