If you use weed before drinking, pay extra attention to how much you’ve had to drink. To err on the side of caution, assume you’ve had a bit more to drink than you actually have, or aim to drink less than you usually would without using weed. In a 2015 study, 19 participants drank either a placebo or small amount of alcohol. Ten minutes later, they used a vaporizer to inhale either a low or a high dose of THC.
- When it comes to beer, wine, and hard liquor, each can produce different results when mixed with cannabis.
- Co-use of alcohol and cannabis is common (Metrik et al., 2018; Subbaraman and Kerr, 2020, 2015; Terry-McElrath and Patrick, 2018; Yurasek et al., 2017), particularly among college students (O’Hara, Armeli, & Tennen, 2016; White et al., 2019).
- 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.
Smoking weed after drinking alcohol
Low to moderate doses can produce feelings of relaxation and euphoria, lower inhibitions, and make social situations more enjoyable (hence the term “liquid confidence”). However, higher doses can lead to impaired judgment, motor control, and coordination, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries. There are countless alcoholic beverages available to consumers today, including beer, wine, spirits, and hard liquor. Beer is made by fermenting grains such as barley, wheat, or rye, while wine is made by fermenting grapes.
Habits for Proper Mental Health
Not surprisingly, most single-product combinations resulted in reduced rates of consumption relative to using multiple products on a given day. We retained 1,390 (91.2%) of these students in the analyses after excluding participants who provided responses inconsistent with baseline survey eligibility criteria (see above) or whose surveys had technological problems. See White et al. (2019) and Stevens et al. (2020; Supplemental Materials) for further details regarding the baseline survey.
By contrast, concentrate + beer resulted in significantly lower rates of drinking (see Figure 4B). All leaf combinations had significantly lower rates of cannabis use, relative to using liquor + 2 cannabis products on that day (see Figure 4C). Given the novelty of the present work, findings should be considered preliminary, and future work is needed to examine the replicability of these findings before firm conclusions are drawn.
This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations, or your health, you should always consult with an attorney, physician or other licensed professional. Drinking alcohol is ingrained in so many social situations, but most methods of cannabis consumption don’t work well as a replacement. Cannabis beverages, though, present a real alternative to alcoholic beverages that can fit into many of the same social settings. Well, first off, keep in mind that using both substances together can produce unique effects on the human body, and it’s vital to use them in moderation and with caution. It might seem harmless to mix alcohol and weed, but doing so can be a slippery slope toward getting overly intoxicated.
Spirits and hard liquor are distilled from fermented mixtures of grains, fruits, or vegetables, resulting in higher alcohol concentrations. Alcohol has long been a staple of social gatherings and celebrations, with millions of people consuming it regularly. In fact, according to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, over 85% of adults aged 18 or older reported having consumed alcohol in their lifetime. But if you do decide to mix the two, start slow and keep track of how much you’re consuming of each.
Forest plot of product combination effects relative to using liquor + 2 cannabis products. Forest plot of product combination effects relative to using concentrate + ≥ 2 alcohol products. So long as both substances are legal to possess and consume in your jurisdiction, they are legal to combine. While there are little to no restrictions on the possession of alcohol, the same cannot be said of cannabis in some parts of the country.
- Additionally, the combination of cannabis and alcohol can also reduce the intensity of the high, which can be beneficial for those who are sensitive to the effects of either substance.
- We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.
- In particular, SAM users were shown to be more likely to endorse nine types of consequences, relative to alcohol-only users, with the strongest effects observed for more acute consequences (e.g., blackouts; Jackson et al., 2020).
- Neuroscience News is an online science magazine offering free to read research articles about neuroscience, neurology, psychology, artificial intelligence, neurotechnology, robotics, deep learning, neurosurgery, mental health and more.
While people might use a combination of alcohol and marijuana to experience a more intense high, this can be dangerous. The effects of marijuana and alcohol on their own are unpredictable, and combining them makes this worse. You can absorb THC more quickly when there’s alcohol in your blood, which can increase the risk of experiencing uncomfortable side effects. While uncommon, some users might experience more severe reactions like panic attacks or temporary psychosis. For those with a family history of mental health conditions, cannabis use may increase the risk of developing or triggering these conditions.
Short-Term Effects
Over a long period of time, regular marijuana use can affect the individual’s physical and mental health. Long-term or heavy use can result in an impaired driving ability due to slow reaction times and poor judgment, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, increased respiratory infections and chronic disorders such as anxiety, depression or schizophrenia. Often referred to as “greening out,” alcohol and marijuana users can have an undesirable reaction when combining the two substances.
Can Mixing Weed and Alcohol Lead to Addiction?
This becomes particularly important with cannabis edibles, which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to reach full effect. If you’ve been drinking heavily, it’s best to avoid cannabis altogether, as alcohol expands your blood vessels and can dramatically increase THC absorption. Similarly, if you’ve already used cannabis, waiting several hours before considering alcohol allows you to gauge your level of impairment better. Mixing alcohol and cannabis can put you in a particularly risky legal situation, depending on the circumstances.
They’re also at a greater risk of making poor decisions, increasing their likelihood of getting behind the wheel of a car, getting into a fight or doing something unsafe. Used alone, either substance can be used in moderation without significant long-term effects. However, when you mix alcohol and marijuana, they can lead to unpleasant or even dangerous side effects. Little research has been done on combining alcohol and marijuana, but the indications are that there can be major combining alcohol and marijuana produces risks. No matter what substances you are using, please consult a physician before combining them, and please always use substances responsibly.
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. Your tolerance can be affected by the potency of the alcohol and the cannabis used, so be mindful that not every mix may have the same effect. As much as possible, know what you’re drinking and which cannabis you’re using, and let this factor into how much you consume of both. If you’re old enough, you may remember hearing in the anti-drug class at school that when taken together, alcohol and cannabis double the effects of one another. While there is no evidence of a doubling effect, the research does indicate that the two substances do augment the effects of one another. Drinking alcohol and getting high at the same time – sometimes known as “crossfading” – can enhance the effects of both and potentially lead to some real side effects.
If you’re out in a group, one person’s reaction might be very different than yours. The adverse health effects of alcohol are well-documented; excessive drinking can lead to liver damage or failure, heart strain or damage and various other issues, including a heightened risk of cancer. Smoking and vaping cannabis cause faster absorption of THC by your body compared to using edibles.3 In other words, if you eat a brownie that has weed after drinking, the weed will be absorbed slower than if you smoked or vaped it. As a result, the overall alcohol-weed interaction in your system could be reduced. Simultaneously using cannabis during alcohol-use moments altered the subjective effects of alcohol, whereas simultaneously consuming alcohol during cannabis-use moments did not alter the subjective effects of cannabis.
Even if someone is not a current user of alcohol or marijuana, is it likely that they have tried it at some point; 52% of Americans report that they have tried marijuana and 86% report that they have tried alcohol at some point in their lives. 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. The order and timing of your consumption matters, too.10 Using cannabis after drinking can increase the likelihood of nausea and dizziness, as alcohol expands blood vessels and can speed up THC absorption. This combination can also make you more prone to cannabis overconsumption, which can include pale skin, sweating, nausea, anxiety, and, in some cases, temporary blackouts.
Addiction Treatment
Combining alcohol and cannabis can increase both substances’ potency and subjective effects, so take your time, exercise caution, and always consume responsibly. Conversely, wine can produce more potent effects than beer when consumed with cannabis due to its higher alcohol content. For context, many people consider beer and wine to be relatively equivalent drinks. If a couple is out on a dinner date, for example, one person orders a beer and the other a glass of wine, no one will bat an eye. So, a single glass of wine alongside a joint will produce stronger effects than a can of beer. This can increase the risk of adverse outcomes, such as impaired judgment, slowed reaction times, and decreased motor control.
Mental Health and Loneliness
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. Cannabis and alcohol intersect at countless get-togethers – and nights kicking back at home. If you are mixing the two, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind.
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. Taken together, alcohol and cannabis can compound these side effects of one another, so it is imperative that you stay hydrated if you are consuming alcohol or cannabis – together or on their own. A dry mouth and increased thirst are also common side effects of cannabis, and taken together, the two substances can worsen the likelihood of dehydration. A shortage of fluids makes a severe hangover the next morning more likely, and dehydration can require medical treatment in severe cases. The combination of weed and alcohol has become increasingly popular among young adults and recreational users alike.