Simply put, group activities for substance abuse 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 or both of the substances.
- In a 2015 study, 19 participants drank either a placebo or small amount of alcohol.
- 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.
- Marijuana can be consumed in many ways; it can be smoked, vaporized, rubbed on the skin, or added to food.
- Occasionally mixing alcohol and weed — also known as crossfading — likely won’t lead to major health problems.
Long-term physical health risks
Alcohol and marijuana are two of the most commonly used substances in the United States, with 17% of Americans stating that they smoke marijuana and 62% of American adults saying that they currently drink alcohol. Used alone and in moderation, these substances can be consumed safely and legally in certain states. However, when mixed together, alcohol and marijuana can create unpleasant side effects. Data from the 2005 and 2010 National Alcohol Survey show that people mixing marijuana and alcohol experienced triple the rate of negative social consequences and double the rate of self-harm than those who just drank.
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.
During separate sessions, participants were administered cannabis (0, 100, or 200 μg/kg) with and without alcohol administration (0.04 g/dl) and subsequently completed actual driving tasks. Cannabis and alcohol alone significantly impaired performance in the driving tasks, and the combination of cannabis and alcohol impaired driving performance to a greater degree. In another study by Ramaekers et al. [69], heavy cannabis users were recruited for a double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way examination of tolerance and cross-tolerance to the neurocognitive effects of cannabis and alcohol. Subjects completed three alcohol conditions intended to sustain steady blood alcohol concentrations (0, 0.5, and 0.7 mg/ml) over 5 h. Three hours post-alcohol administration onset, participants were administered cannabis (400 μg/kg).
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.
Mixing edibles with alcohol
Using alcohol or marijuana may lead to side effects and risks for the user. Mixing alcohol and marijuana together can intensify certain effects of both, leading to increased health risk and dangers over using either alone. Preclinical and experimental research can be utilized to better understand the complex relationship between the co-use of cannabis and alcohol and related consequences. Furthermore, preclinical studies show that antagonists of the cannabinoid receptors and inhibitors of the enzymatic degradation of endocannabinoids dampen both preference for and overall intake of alcohol [61, 62].
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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.
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 alcohol and violence statistics 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.
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.
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 out of control” were more likely stopping duloxetine cold turkey 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.
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.
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.
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.
Remember, consuming weed and alcohol together can make you feel either more or less intoxicated than you would if you were 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.