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Weed and alcohol are the two most commonly used substances in the world, and they tend to be the most accessible. They’re usually consumed at social gatherings or when you just need to take the edge off after a stressful day.
For some individuals, a party is not complete without these two substances. However, what happens when you mix the two together? Are there any health implications you should be concerned about?
Or have you ever wondered which one had more negative effects on your body? When it comes to combining weed and alcohol, there are certain dangers associated with this practice.
It may seem like a fun idea at first, but you should be aware of the consequences before you consider trying the two together. This article will explore everything there is to know about drinking alcohol and mixing it with cannabis simultaneously.
The Effects of Alcohol
Let’s start off by talking about the different individual effects of each substance. Although you may not get drunk as soon as you start drinking, the effects kick in almost immediately after the first sip.
Low amounts of alcohol can cause both feelings of drowsiness and euphoria along with other effects including changes in mood, lowered inhibitions, and an increase in impulsive behaviour. They don’t call it liquid courage for no reason.
Once more alcohol enters your system, you may experience nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, changes in hearing, vision and perception, loss of coordination, and even loss of consciousness.
However, this all solely depends on your alcohol tolerance level. One drink can quickly get one person drunk, whereas another person with the same drink may not feel anything at all after consumption.
It also depends on many other factors such as how long it took you to finish the drink, how much alcohol is in the drink, how much food have you consumed during or prior and so on. With that being said, drink with your own discretion.
The Effects of Cannabis
Moving onto cannabis, most people are aware that it’s used for both recreational and medicinal purposes. While most people smoke and vape cannabis, it can be used to create a variety of concentrates and edibles.
Depending on the method of consumption the effects on the body can vary as well. Due to the fact that everyone’s endocannabinoid system is different, people have claimed a wide range of physical and psychological effects from feelings of discomfort and dizziness to pain relief and relaxation.
Overall, not enough research has been done to completely confirm the correlation of these effects. But here’s what researchers know so far…The THC found in some cannabis products can alter the hippocampus which is partially responsible for how your brain processes information; overall affecting your ability to form new memories.
Besides memory issues, you may also experience slowed reaction time, impaired judgement, a weakened immune system, red eyes, dry mouth, lung and throat irritation (if cannabis is smoked), and others.
Consuming high doses of cannabis on the other hand can also cause something referred to as “greening out”. When a person greens out, they’ll turn pale, sweat, get dizzy, nauseous, and even throw up — similar to getting the temporary flu.
On the bright side, taking the right amount of cannabis can also improve symptoms of nausea, and vomiting, stimulate your appetite, provide pain relief, trigger the release of dopamine, and relieve stress. It’s all about finding the right dose for you.
What Happens When You Mix Weed With Alcohol
Typically, when you drink alcohol, the end result is getting drunk. When you smoke cannabis, it results in you getting high. However, when you mix the two together, it’s called being cross-faded.
When you combine the two substances, you’re more susceptible to being in a depressive state as alcohol and cannabis can be labelled as depressants. Don’t mistake it as simply feeling sad, it actually refers to your brain activity slowing down. When your brain activity slows down, you may experience reduced motor coordination, slower reaction time, difficulty in remembering things, and more.
Besides that, both substances can affect a person’s judgement, and when you combine the two, it can cause blackouts, memory loss, and all while you’re more likely to engage in risky behaviour.
In the long run, combining both can lead to problems with the heart, gastrointestinal system, immune system, kidneys and liver. Something to be aware of if you do choose to mix cannabis with alcohol is that it may make you feel less drunk.
Therefore, encourages you to drink way past your limit when in reality, you should probably start drinking just water. Not to mention, if a person does drink past their limit and needs to vomit, cannabis might inhibit that causing more harm to the person in that situation.
To summarize, mixing weed and alcohol together may not be the best idea especially if you’re new to drinking alcohol or smoking cannabis. If you do choose to try the combination make sure to exercise extreme caution.
Advantages Of Mixing Cannabis & Alcohol
If you were looking for a list of all the advantages, you’ll definitely be disappointed. There aren’t really any advantages to mixing the two substances together beside one.
Alcohol can intensify the effects of cannabis by encouraging the body to absorb THC quicker. This results in a much stronger high which many veteran smokers may find glorifying whereas novices may experience drastically unpleasant effects.
Disadvantages Of Mixing Cannabis & Alcohol
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the disadvantages of mixing cannabis and alcohol. Here are a few disadvantages you may face when you combine cannabis with alcohol.
Tolerance
People who drink alcohol and smoke weed together usually consume more of these substances. Alcohol makes people feel less high and weed makes people feel less drunk.
Therefore, they tend to consume more of the two substances while increasing their tolerance to both substances. The next time you try this combination, you may need to consume more of these substances to reach the same “level” you were at prior.
So, not only are you consuming more of the harmful combination but you’re probably wasting more money trying to keep up with your newly developed tolerance.
Cognitive Impairment
Prolonged use of cannabis and alcohol may cause structural changes within the brain. Research has shown that people who use both alcohol and cannabis have more cognitive impairments than those who only drink alcohol.
According to an article from Psychology Today “Alcohol disrupts gamma waves by enhancing GABA, while marijuana disrupts gamma waves by inhibiting GABA.” Gamma waves are dispersed throughout the brain and are responsible for multiple functions including perception, memory, attention and consciousness.
Disrupting these gamma waves can result in deficits relating to attention control, learning, memory retention, and psychomotor speed.
Poor Judgement
The consumption of cannabis or alcohol alone has a significant impact on a person’s ability to make rational judgements. It only makes sense that when you combine the two it intensifies this effect even more.
It also increases a person’s chances of engaging in risky behaviour. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about people waking up with new tattoos, or a group of friends going on some crazy wild adventure after a drink-filled night.
As it’s been mentioned several times before, weed and alcohol enhance each other’s effects on a person meaning the lack of judgement and irrational behaviour is amplified.
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Smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol together overall doesn’t seem to be a good match. It would probably be a better idea to pair up food with cannabis or alcohol instead.
With that being said, cannabis does seem to be the healthier option among the two substances as cannabis provides more positive benefits. Especially if you’re looking for something that’ll provide stress or anxiety relief, better quality sleep and more.
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