There is a substantial body of research examining the efficacy of pharmacotherapy and behavioral treatments for alcohol [84–88] or cannabis use disorders [78, 89–92]. To date, however, there is little research evaluating the efficacy of interventions specifically for the co-use of cannabis and alcohol. These symptoms can be even more intense if the marijuana is consumed as an edible. When marijuana is baked into or added to food and then eaten, it takes time for the food to digest and for the user to start experiencing effects.
Higher risk of dependence
A craving for alcohol, wanting to cut back but being unable to, having your professional or personal life affected by alcohol, and developing a tolerance to alcohol are all signs of an alcohol use disorder. 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. Both weed and alcohol can carry a potential for misuse and addiction, but this appears to be more common with alcohol. Getting drunk or high can feel similar to some people, while others describe the sensations as very different. Of course, the way you feel when you’re intoxicated also depends on how much of the substance you consume.
When people drink and smoke marijuana together, alcohol increases the amount of THC that is absorbed into the body. While this means that people who use an alcohol and marijuana combination may report a “higher high,” the lows can also become amplified. When mixing alcohol and edibles, even more caution may be required.
Alcohol And Marijuana
Marijuana impacts areas of the brain responsible for memory, thinking, pleasure and perceiving time and senses. Alcohol is a depressant that affects the entire central nervous system, heavily impacting motor skills, judgment, cognition and memory. “Overall, we did not find support for specific concentrated products increasing the odds of a negative consequence; indeed, our most consistent finding was for using multiple alcohol products and negative consequences,” they wrote. It’s also important to remember that there aren’t many high-quality, long-term studies on weed and its effects.
Health Risks of Taking Marijuana and Alcohol Together
Simply put, neither substance should be consumed if you plan on driving, so make sure to have a designated driver take the keys if you’re going to mix the two and get a cross fade going. 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. It’s also important to note that if you regularly use an alcohol and marijuana combination, you’re at a higher risk of developing a dependence on one what does sponsor mean or both of the substances.
Remember, consuming weed and alcohol together can make you feel either more or less intoxicated than you would if you were how to store urine for drug test using just one or the other. Adding alcohol to a low dose of THC impaired driving simulator scores by 21 percent. Adding alcohol to a high dose of THC impaired driving simulator scores by 17 percent.
- Alcohol and marijuana are both psychoactive substances, meaning they can change the way a person thinks and feels.
- Both weed and alcohol, together and on their own, are also potentially addictive and can lead to dependence and misuse.
- This might seem like a good thing, but it makes it harder to know how impaired you really are.
- The short-term effects of weed and alcohol differ from person to person.
Another risk of an alcohol and marijuana combination is that you may take too much of either substance. Although using too much marijuana isn’t usually life-threatening, inhalation burns and asthma attacks from smoking cannabis can be deadly. Because alcohol poisoning can be deadly, it is best to seek medical attention to make sure that your symptoms are not due to a dangerous blood alcohol level. Alcohol can dehydrate you quite quickly, and if you haven’t had enough fluids, this can heighten the intoxicating effects of alcohol. Cannabis can also leave you with a dry mouth (“cottonmouth”) and make you feel parched.
Epidemiology, Comorbidity, and Associated Problems of Cannabis and Alcohol Use Disorders
Many of the effects of drinking every day can be reversed through early intervention. If you think you’re abusing these or other substances, help is available. Contact us to speak with an intake coordinator who can answer your questions and help you understand what options may be available to you. If you’re using an alcohol and marijuana combination, you can be more likely to get alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal. At the end of the day, the combined effects of weed and alcohol are unpredictable and often dangerous.
They are available 24/7 to provide you with the information, guidance, and support you need, as well as verify your insurance benefits. The appropriate level of care for treatment should be determined on an individual basis, with your doctor. Read on to learn more about the potential reactions and what to do if you have a bad one. If you aren’t careful, the duo can lead to a case of the spins or a green out, two reactions that can turn a fun night out into a nauseated night in.
Drinking alcohol after smoking weed
Those who used alcohol and marijuana were more likely to drive unsafely than those who used alcohol and marijuana separately. They were also more likely to use the substances in a bar or party context, making it more likely that they would have to drive somewhere afterwards. The study authors found that people who felt “stressed, angry, tired, and/or gallstones and alcohol out of control” were more likely to use both substances at the same time. Combining the two substances also leads to a greater degree of impairment than taking either one on its own. You may put yourself in risky or dangerous situations if you’re drinking or using marijuana, and an alcohol and marijuana combination makes this even more likely. Smoking weed after drinking alcohol may intensify the effects of weed.
As the research indicates, people who use both alcohol and weed together tend to consume more of both. The authors of a 2017 review suggest that people who use alcohol and weed together typically consume more of both drugs. This higher intake may increase the risk of dependence on alcohol, weed, or both. Their combined use can cause blackouts, memory loss, and an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors.
Participants drank alcohol (placebo or low dose) and inhaled 500 mg vaporized cannabis (placebo, 2.9%, or 6.7% THC) ad libitum for 10 min before completing a driving simulation. An interaction between cannabis and alcohol was observed in time spent at high speed; thus, cannabis may have diminished the propensity to increase driving speed following alcohol consumption. Findings from preclinical research support the existence of potential cross-tolerance between cannabis and alcohol that may have important translational implications for clinical research. With driving under the influence for example, blood THC concentrations obtained from drivers may be lower than set limits despite greatly exceeding them while driving. Further complicating interpretation, blood concentrations during driving cannot be back-extrapolated due to unknown time after cannabis use and individual variability in THC blood concentration trajectories [101]. Therefore, more laboratory research is needed on pharmacokinetic interactions between cannabis and alcohol and performance impairments from co-use.