A new study finds that some people who smoke marijuana tend to drink less alcohol.
Researchers at Brown University’s Center for the Study of Alcohol and Addiction set out to determine whether marijuana use affects alcohol craving and consumption, and specifically whether smoking marijuana can reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by alcoholics.
The randomized controlled study included 157 adults aged 21 to 44 who reported binge drinking and regular marijuana use (at least once every two weeks).
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Each participant completed three two-hour “lab sessions” covering different types of cannabis use. They received one of two levels of THC or a placebo, and then had the option of drinking alcohol or receiving cash payment.
Those who smoked marijuana with a higher THC content (7.2%) drank about 27% less alcohol than those who smoked a placebo. They also reported an immediate reduction in the urge to drink.
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Those who smoked marijuana with a higher THC content (7.2%) drank about 27% less alcohol than those who smoked a placebo.
Participants who smoked cannabis containing 3.1% THC drank about 19% less.
“In our controlled bar lab study, after people smoked marijuana, they drank about a quarter less alcohol over the next two hours,” the study’s lead author Dr. Jane Metrik, a professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Brown Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, told Fox News Digital.
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Researchers report that marijuana has varying effects on cravings for alcohol.
“We found a significant reduction in desire to drink immediately after smoking marijuana, but no consistent effect across different levels of alcohol craving,” Metrick said. “This suggests that marijuana may not have a uniform effect on drinking motivation and that other mechanisms may explain how marijuana affects subsequent drinking.”
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The study, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, was published last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The researchers acknowledged that the study did have limitations.
“This study only tested one cannabinoid (THC) in smoked marijuana, which means the results may not be generalizable to a wide range of marijuana products, formulations and other cannabinoids,” Metrick told Fox News Digital. “The study sample also included people who use marijuana on an almost daily basis, so those who use marijuana less frequently may exhibit different alcohol-related behaviors.”
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The researchers also did not study the effects of using marijuana and alcohol together.
They noted that because the study was short-term and conducted in a “laboratory” setting, it’s unclear whether the reduction in alcohol use would be sustained in the long term or in a real-world setting.
“In our controlled bar laboratory study, people who smoked cannabis consumed about a quarter less alcohol over the next two hours,” said the lead researcher.
The researchers say the findings do not justify recommending marijuana as an alternative to alcohol among people with alcohol use disorder because the long-term health effects and addiction risk of marijuana remain uncertain.
“It’s important to understand that the effects of marijuana vary from person to person,” Metrick said, noting that while the substance may reduce drinking in the short term, it comes with its own risks.
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“Our study is only a first step, and we need more long-term studies before we can draw public health conclusions,” she said. “We do not have clear evidence on the long-term safety and effectiveness of using cannabis as a treatment for alcohol. At this time, I would not recommend using cannabis to reduce alcohol consumption.”
For people who have replaced alcohol with marijuana, Metrick recommends that they monitor their use closely and be aware of the risks of marijuana use disorder. She also “strongly encourages” them to consider evidence-based alcohol treatment.
Marcel Bonn-Miller, Ph.D., a cannabis researcher at Ajna BioSciences in Colorado, noted that the study underscores current market trends showing that alcohol sales have declined significantly as THC has become more readily available.
“Because many consumers report using THC beverages and other non-inhaled delivery methods as alternatives to alcohol, future clinical trials must determine the impact of these forms on alcohol use behaviors over time,” the researcher, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
Nicole Short, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who studies marijuana use disorder, praised the study’s “rigorous” design.
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“Overall, the experimental design is a rare feature of this area of research because it can be logistically difficult to give people marijuana in a lab (given its federal Schedule I status), so this is a very unique study,” Short, who also was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
She noted that the results are consistent with the “California sobriety” trend, in which marijuana use may be a way to reduce the use of other substances.
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Short said that while some people report that marijuana can help them recover from other substance use disorders, its effects have not been widely tested.
While the study concluded that marijuana use does reduce single-dose drinking, the long-term effects of marijuana use on alcohol consumption are unknown.
Experts agree that while the study concluded that smoking marijuana does reduce the amount of alcohol consumed on a single occasion, there are still unknown factors, including the long-term effects of marijuana use on alcohol consumption.
“So, cannabis use may still be harmful to drinking outcomes in the long term,” she said. “We also don’t know the net effect of exchanging one substance, such as alcohol, for another, such as marijuana.”
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“It might be easy to believe that using cannabis instead of alcohol is a win, but from the current research, we really don’t know if that’s true.”
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Short added: “Hopefully this study and similar studies will add tools to our toolkit on how to reduce problem drinking.”
Metrick noted that more research is needed to assess “clinically relevant alcohol outcomes,” particularly for people seeking treatment for alcohol use disorders.
Original source of the article: Study finds alcoholics reduce their drinking by nearly 30% after developing a new habit