Posted on June 29, 2021 View all news
Is marijuana really safer than alcohol? Today, we tackle this common misconception with the following thought provoking facts. Check out our new video (please share!), and the below links to some relevant research, parent testimonials, and PopPot’s excellent blog posts on this important topic.
What Does the Science Say?
“Beyond the role of cognition in vulnerability to substance use, the concurrent and lasting effects of adolescent cannabis use can be observed on important cognitive functions and appear to be more pronounced than those observed for alcohol.”
See marijuana vs. alcohol research published by Psychiatry Online.
Cannabis does not replace alcohol or take away the harms of alcohol. Cannabis use is associated with increased risk of Alcohol Use Disorder.
See this research on Cannabis Use and Alcohol Use Disorders published on Science Direct.
“People who smoked cannabis four or more days of the week over many years ended up in a lower social class than their parents, with lower-paying, less skilled and less prestigious jobs than those who were not regular cannabis smokers,” said Magdalena Cerdá, an epidemiologist at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. “These regular and persistent users also experienced more financial, work-related and relationship difficulties, which worsened as the number of years of regular cannabis use progressed.”
Check out this U.C. Davis research on cannabis and negative outcomes.
Which is worse: pot or alcohol?
A CBS News affiliate did a report in 2014: “There actually is quite a difference between pot and alcohol.”
Marijuana is as Dangerous as Alcohol Behind the Wheel
Two testimonies from the MomsStrong.org blog show that marijuana is just as deadly as alcohol when the driver is impaired.
Read of one mother’s tragic loss of her daughter in a marijuana DUI. Read Medical Marijuana and My Daughter’s Life Collided.
And, of a father’s loss, his son’s death from riding with a driver who had marijuana in her system. Read From Eagle Scout and Standout Athlete to Drugs and Early Death.
Public Health Official Statement
Poppot reported last year on the U.S. Surgeon General’s strong warnings that marijuana is not safe.
Read our article and follow the link to the Surgeon General’s “marijuana unsafe” press conference.
Other Resources for Parents
We highly recommend the Project SAM toolkit as a means of educating yourself and others about the marijuana issue.
Here is our recent blog post (a great one to send to others!), Marijuana Is Worse than Alcohol.
Here is our popular blog post Marijuana: What Parent’s Need to Know Today which contains a quick primer on risks and harms and the increased dangers of the highly potent forms of marijuana being sold today.
Originally published at PopPot: https://poppot.org/2020/05/18/think-ya-know-is-marijuana-safer-than-alcohol/