There is a running debate about which is safer and ultimately better for you. Unfortunately, much of is it has to do with long held traditions across the world.
Many societies started imbibing cocktails in the early days of mankind, well before they developed farming or reading skills. For that reason, alcohol use is an ancient tradition, deeply seeded in our culture.
This widely regarded social acceptance simply doesn’t exist for cannabis… at least not yet although cannabis use is accepted more than ever before, many people remain opposed to it, quite possibly due to the “War on Drugs” we grew up with and dating back to the 1930’s with “Reefer Madness.”
Even though both Cannabis and alcohol are considered habit forming as both alter your thinking and coordination, they have very different health effects with the two main differences being:
1. Long-term or regular alcohol use contributes to many chronic diseases and a shorter lifespan. According to the CDC, “The less you use alcohol, the lower your risks to serious health conditions are.”
2. Unlike alcohol, cannabis has important health and medical benefits.
The CDC list serious health conditions as:
– Cancer
– Chronic diseases such as heart disease
– Problems with the liver, pancreas, brain, and immune system
– Accidental injuries (like vehicle crashes, falls, and drowning)
– Harming others (intimate partner violence and fetal alcohol exposure, for example)
– Memory and learning problems
– Addiction
– Shorter life span
– Death from alcohol poisoning
Even for people who do not drink excessively, alcohol can still have negative impacts such as:
– Dehydration
– Inflammation
– Hangovers
– Upset stomach and nausea
– Poor sleep
– Dangerous medication interactions
– Toxic chemical exposure – when the liver breaks down alcohol, it creates a bi-product called acetaldehyde, which can cause cancer.
However there is one area that both are bad for – the developing brain.
Part one – look for part two next week!