Is it dangerous to mix alcohol and cannabis?

What are the health risks of combining alcoholic beverages and cannabis? Let's take a look.

Although it may seem like a settled substance in society that is consumed only in specific situations, alcohol generates many problems in the medical environment on a constant basis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3 million deaths occur each year as a result of harmful alcohol consumption, which represents 5.3% of all deaths globally.

In other words, 5.1% of the global burden of disease (state of ill health due to any cause) and physical injury is due to alcohol consumption. It is not surprising, then, that from encephalopathies to fatal cirrhosis, there are some 200 diseases that arise from alcohol consumption..

With all these data we do not mean to say that this drink is deadly, but certainly the effects of its abuse by the general population are little known. The matter becomes even more complicated if we look at the possible synergies and joint effects of alcohol with these substances, as we are not usually clear about what can be consumed or done under the effects of alcohol. For both informational and medical purposes, today we explore whether it is dangerous to mix alcohol with alcohol. we explore if it is dangerous to mix alcohol and cannabis..

The effects of marijuana and alcohol

Before exploring the synergistic effect of both substances at the same time, it is of interest to see what they do at the brain level separately. First, it is worth noting that cannabis is smoked because of the THC content present in marijuana, which creates a number of effects at the brain level. In the brain, THC binds to cannabinoid receptors, which in turn are located on nerve cells, resulting in an overstimulation of the brain areas with the highest number of receptors.

Interestingly, cannabis is considered a depressant drug, cannabis is considered a central nervous system depressant drug, so it is both a depressant and an excitatory compound.. This means that it is characterized by simultaneously producing sedation and euphoria: the sensation can be very positive on an emotional level, but at the same time lead to a clear loss of faculties on a physical level.

All this causes alteration of the senses, changes in the perception of time, fluctuation in mood, limitation of body movements, difficulty in thinking and solving problems and memory failures, among many other things. In the long term, abusive cannabis use is associated with the development of anxiety, psychosis and depression, in addition to other clinical entities of a physical nature (such as lung cancer, if hashish is mixed with tobacco when smoked).

On the other hand, the active compound of alcohol is ethanol, which can be obtained from bacterial fermentation of sugars in natural or industrial environments. Ethanol is also a nervous system depressant.Its high consumption results in loss of reflexes, decreased alertness, tremors, gait problems and even hallucinations. With this data, it is easy to imagine why 73% of fatal accidents involve alcohol.

It should be noted that alcohol has a biphasic effect on the body, i.e. it initially manifests itself in the form of disinhibition and joy, but then motor problems, clumsiness and even alcoholic coma always follow. Both alcohol and cannabis generate a kind of initial rush, which then translates into a series of signs derived from depression. a series of signs derived from the depression of the central nervous system..

Is it dangerous to mix both drugs?

There are many myths and repeated "affirmations" regarding this subject. Therefore, we are only going to focus on the data cited by professional sources, such as the medical journal HHS Public Access or the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC). Let's get to it.

According to the CDC, the simultaneous consumption of cannabis and alcohol reports more obvious depressant effects than if each of the compounds were consumed separately.that is, the sensation is greater than the sum of its parts. This postulation is based on the fact that alcohol increases the systemic absorption of THC, the active nervous system depressant component of marijuana.

Studies such as "Ethanol increases plasma 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels and subjective effects after marijuana smoking in human volunteers" tested this idea under experimental conditions. For this particular study, a series of volunteers who consumed alcoholic beverages and marijuana and a placebo sample group were taken and, after a certain time, Blood tests and subjective questionnaires were performed on each of them.

Interestingly, it was observed that the level of THC in the blood plasma was significantly higher in people who had consumed alcohol before marijuana, which could account for the higher sense of euphoria in the sample group, but also for greater clinical signs of central nervous system depression.This could explain the feeling of more euphoria in the sample group, but at the same time greater clinical signs of depression in the central nervous system. The opposite has also been demonstrated, as it seems that smoking marijuana delays the absorption of ethanol at the systemic level, reducing its effects on the organism.

We are not going to focus on the pharmacokinetic properties of each substance that result in this interaction, as it is enough to know that alcohol consumption seems to potentiate the effect of THC and THC seems to delay the visible effects of alcohol consumption.

The effects of this synergy

It is practically impossible to elucidate whether this interaction has clear clinical effects, as each person is different and, therefore, the body has different tolerance and toxic dose ranges. In addition, the studies carried out usually involve a fairly small sample group (less than 100 people), so it is quite difficult to generalize from one result. On top of all this, the long-term effects of substance use are rarely explored, much less in combination with another substance.

So what to do with the data presented? If one thing is clear from the various research studies, it is that the level of THC in the blood can be doubled after alcohol intake, at least compared to people who consume only one of the two drugs separately.. This is reflected in the performance of many tests (such as reflexes and driving), as groups that have first taken alcohol and then marijuana perform much worse.

However, these generalities may or may not apply to each case depending on a number of factors. Among them, we find the following:

• Tolerance to each of the substances: the more alcohol or cannabis is consumed, the more tolerance develops. Therefore, we assume that it is difficult for a constant amount of both to feel as bad as the first time.
• The type of alcohol: it is necessary to remember that a beer has about 5 degrees of alcohol, while white vodka reports about 40.
• The consumption of cannabis: the effect of cannabis ingested in the form of a cake is much more delayed than if it is inhaled in tobacco or bong.
• The interval between the consumption of each of the substances.
• The synergy with more addictive substances, such as caffeine or nicotine, in conjunction with alcohol and cannabis.
• Prior use of certain prescription drugs.

Summary

With all these data, we wanted to reflect that, when asked the question of whether it is dangerous to mix alcohol and cannabis, there is no concrete answer. The reaction of each person and the pharmacokinetics of the substances depend on the tolerance of each person, the state of mind, the health at the time and the consumption of other drugs/substances, among many other things.. To complicate matters further, THC has been shown to delay the depressant effects of alcohol. So what are we left with?

Apart from legal issues, if you are going to drink and then smoke, we recommend that you reduce your cannabis intake by half or at least wait a few hours between the consumption of one substance and the other. If you consume a considerable amount of alcohol and then smoke marijuana, it is likely to make you feel worse and facilitate the well-known "yellowing", so be careful and choose your moments wisely.