New Study Says Pot Before Drinking Leads To Less Booze Consumption
Cannabis as Harm-Reduction Tool?
Many seasoned cannabis smokers and alcohol drinkers enjoy combining both substances together.
There are many reasons why they choose to mix weed and alcohol. For those with social anxiety, getting high before heading off to a party where you have to drink and socialize can help take some of the edge off and help you feel comfortable in social settings before you drink. After all, cannabis is well-known for its ability to calm people down, especially in the right doses.
Cannabis can also help enhance or alter the buzz you get from weed. Both substances interact synergistically in the body; the body can absorb more THC when alcohol has been consumed, but smoking cannabis first, followed by drinking, can also result in a euphoric experience.
Smoking Weed Before Drinking Can Lead To A Reduction In Alcohol Consumption
Now, studies show that smoking weed followed by drinking can also lead to drinking less, which is ideal for individuals who want to cut down on their booze.
According to researchers from Colorado State University, the study participants reported less alcohol cravings and drank less booze following pot consumption. The study, whose results were published in the medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, involved offering alcoholic drinks every 15 minutes within a 1-hour session to participants. In sessions when they were allowed to partake weed before the session, they noticed that the subjects experienced a reduced intake of alcoholic beverages by 25%.
“We tested whether cannabis serves as a substitute for alcohol in a sample of community adults who drink heavily and use cannabis regularly. Consistent with our hypothesis… self-administering cannabis before alcohol significantly reduced alcohol consumption compared to when alcohol was offered without cannabis,” said the investigators. “Furthermore, we found a trend toward an acute reduction in alcohol craving following cannabis and alcohol co-administration compared to alcohol administration alone,” they wrote. They then added that reduced cravings may have occurred due to their substituting cannabis for weed.
“These findings provide… support for the idea that legal-market canabis can serve as a substitute for alcohol among some individuals who engage in heavy drinking,” they concluded.
There are similar findings from other studies, too.
For example, a 2024 study out of New Zealand assessed responses to an online poll where 23,500 participants who had a history of consuming weed as well as other substances responded. They were asked about their cannabis use and its impact on other substances. They found that substituting weed was common, since 60% of the respondents reported that “using cannabis led to ‘less’ alcohol consumption.”
Meanwhile, over 40% of respondents acknowledged substituting weed for morphine while 40% also did pot in place of methamphetamine. Substitution was also common for tobacco.
“Significant proportions of people who use cannabis in our survey reported that using cannabis led to lower levels of alcohol and methamphetamine use, and this substitution impact of cannabis was consistent with this group’s lower consumption of these other drug types,” the authors concluded. “Cannabis may be particularly appropriate in this role for individuals who do not wish or unable to stop the use of other substances completely,” they wrote.
Additionally, there have been observational studies whose results show a decrease in alcohol consumption on the days they also consume weed.
Want To Cut Down On Alcohol? Weed Can Help!
The use of cannabis as a harm-reduction tool can be beneficial for many people who seek to address their addictions to alcohol and other substances. A growing number of studies, such as those mentioned above, demonstrate the true potential of cannabis as a natural, safer, and healthier substitute for alcohol. It can also cut down cravings, help reduce the overall intake, and make drinking less destructive.
This matters because:
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Reduced cravings lead to a decrease in drinking. Since cannabinoids have shown the potential to reduce alcohol cravings, heavy drinkers or anyone who wants to cut down their alcohol dependency can rely on cannabis. It can help replace the craving or urge to drink, especially if the craving is associated with a stress response.
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Cannabis is safer: It’s a fact that alcohol is a poisonous substance that is toxic to the human body. It is cancerous and causes liver damage, just to name a few, and consuming alcohol can lead to overdoses and car accidents. That said, substituting it with weed greatly reduces the risks involved with alcohol, while providing you an avenue to relax without compromising your health or harming other people.
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Benefits for several substances: Substituting weed doesn’t just work for alcohol; it can also be helpful for people who want to replace or reduce opioids, depending on the circumstances. Cannabis has also been shown to be helpful for tobacco and methamphetamine. We need to emphasize that anyone who wishes to quit cannabis should only do so under close medical supervision, since withdrawals can lead to serious psychological symptoms and can put people in danger.
CONCLUSION
Cannabis is a revolutionary tool that has the potential to redefine what harm reduction looks like in the modern age. Instead of strict abstinence or turning to punishment, integrating cannabis into one’s lifestyle offers a gentler, safer approach that is also science-backed.
Since cannabis interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system, it can effectively help us regulate mood, stress, sleep, and reward mechanisms; all of which play an important role in providing natural relief to cravings or urges without the same risk of overdose or health damage associated with other substances, including alcohol.
For many who are dependent on substances, cannabis can be the vital bridge that transitions them from dependency to control.
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