Why Alcohol and Cannabis Should Not Be Mixed
“Beer before liquor has never been worse” – by now (and probably from personal experience) we all know that this rule is true. But when it comes to alcohol and weed, where is our helpful rhyme?
As Vice writes, everyone deals with alcohol and cannabis differently, so while you can mix both substances well, your friend may trip over eggs in the same room. While the combined effects of cannabis and alcohol are largely underexplored, there are a few things to know before diving under the influence of alcohol.
Alcohol can increase your high.
Before grabbing a beer and a joint, make sure you know that one can enhance the effect of the other. According to two separate studies, if you smoke cannabis after drinking alcohol, there is strong evidence that alcohol does increase the amount of THC entering your bloodstream. This is because alcohol opens up the blood vessels in your digestive system, allowing more THC to be absorbed – in other words, yes, alcohol can make you feel even better.
Drink too much before smoking, however, and you may feel nauseous or particularly uncomfortable with the combination; this is sometimes referred to as “greening” or “spinning” (and you do NOT want that).
Edible foods can be a bad decision.
As the High Times wrote, you also might not be in a rush to mix food and alcohol, given the more gradual intoxication of edibles. (Unlike vaping or smoking, it can take hours before you feel anything.) Why is it so bad? Well, you might be tempted to have a drink while you wait for a high that can turn into another drink and then another, and then suddenly find yourself lying on the floor, rubbing your face against the carpet.
There are a number of other possible side effects.
Again, given the paucity of research, many organizations warn of potential side effects but lack sufficient evidence, so we end up talking like your mother: something bad could happen!
According to Psychology Today , cannabis has an antiemetic effect, that is, it makes it difficult to vomit. As you may have heard before, too much alcohol has the exact opposite effect, in which case the combined effect can prevent vomiting or make you choke on any vomiting.
There is also the possibility that the combination will bring you a really, really high level. As noted on the CDC website , using both at the same time can cause more damage than using either of them alone. Alcohol.org warns of effects such as a general decrease in judgment, anxiety, and increased dehydration.
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