Battle of the Buzzes: Is One Healthier Than the Other?
Author: Ethan
After you’ve had a big night out, have you ever wondered what’s worse for your health: booze or a blunt? Marijuana and alcohol are the two most commonly used recreational substances, but figuring out which one is worse for you isn’t as simple as it sounds; both have their fair share of effects on your brain and body. There are many different factors that cause these effects, like how much you use, how you use them as well as your own personal genetic susceptibility that can impact their effectiveness and your own health. As the saying goes, it’s the dose that makes the poison.
When it comes to the method of administration, alcohol can be considered more straightforward than weed; it’s really only available as something you drink. While the act of drinking isn’t particularly risky, and it can be fun to take shots with friends, or have a glass of wine with dinner, problems can arise with long term use. Long term excessive drinking can cause damage to your esophagus, liver, and stomach lining.1
Marijuana, on the other hand, has many more methods of administration. You can eat, drink, smoke, vape, and even topically apply marijuana products. While eating and topical applications have less risks, smoking and vaping have been linked to lung inflammation, chronic bronchitis, and breathing issues.2 There’s even been some studies suggesting that smoking and vaping marijuana products may be linked to an increased risk of cancer, though that research is still a fairly new area.2
When it comes to short term risks, alcohol is a lot more risky to personal health. Drinking an excessive amount at once can potentially result in fatal alcohol poisoning.3 Marjuana on the other hand doesn’t pose an immediate large scale physical danger, but can lead to really bad nausea or even panic attacks. However, both still impair judgement, leading to decisions you might regret the next morning.
In the long term, alcohol can lead to cancers in the head and neck region, like the mouth, throat and brain, as well as damage to the liver and heart.4 Furthermore, alcohol has been linked to lowering white matter, which helps with transmitting communications between neurons, and even shrinking grey matter in the brain, the part that affects thinking and decision making.5 This risk doesn’t even exclusively come with long term effects; mild drinking can negatively affect your brain, too. Alcohol also provides a lot of risks for teens, by interfering with brain development in a multitude of ways.5 Lastly, alcohol innately has an addiction factor, with heavy drinkers often experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit.6
Current research on marijuana shows less long term health risks, but this might be because of the extensive amount of research available on it compared to the relatively small amount available about marijuana. The main risks from marijuana, though not yet fully understood, are thought to be memory problems, reduced brain efficiency, and even anhedonia (feeling a lack of interest or enjoyment from and/or for things you previously found enjoyable).7 These effects are especially concerning with teens, since their brains are still in development and teen marijuana use is on the rise.7 Marijuana also poses risks depending on the person, potentially increasing the risk of a variety of mental health issues like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, and the risk level for these developments are often linked to a person’s existing family medical history.8
Overall, the correct choice for your long-term health is probably neither, but if you have to choose between the two, based on current research today, it appears that alcohol would be the riskier option. If you’re going to partake, moderation is key, and it’s important to keep in mind the weight of the potential long term risks against the short term reward.
Chen, Shao-hua, Jie-wei Wang, and You-ming Li. 2010. “Is Alcohol Consumption Associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease?” Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 11 (6): 423–28. https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1000013.
Volkow, Nora D., Ruben D. Baler, Wilson M. Compton, and Susan R.B. Weiss. 2014. “Adverse Health Effects of Marijuana Use.” The New England Journal of Medicine 370 (23): 2219–27. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1402309.
Atluri, Paavani, Deepa Vasireddy, Srikrishna V. Malayala, Paavani Atluri, Deepa Vasireddy, and Srikrishna V. Malayala. 2021. “Toxic Alcohol Ingestion: A Case Report and Review of Management Pathways.” Cureus 13 (February). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.13092.
Memedovich, K. Ally, Laura E. Dowsett, Eldon Spackman, Tom Noseworthy, and Fiona Clement. 2018. “The Adverse Health Effects and Harms Related to Marijuana Use: An Overview Review.” CMAJ Open 6 (3): E339–46. https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20180023.
Hall, Wayne, and Louisa Degenhardt. 2008. “Cannabis Use and the Risk of Developing a Psychotic Disorder.” World Psychiatry 7 (2): 68–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2008.tb00158.x.
