Marijuana use is linked to lower alcohol intake and diminished cravings in heavy drinkers, according to a new federally funded scientific paper.
The study, a full version of which was obtained by Marijuana Moment in a pre-proof form, found that “for some individuals who drink heavily, cannabis may serve as a substitute for alcohol,” adding that “craving reduction is a potential mechanism through which this could occur.”
The authors, affiliated with Colorado State University, the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, say the project is the “first study to test effects of legal-market cannabis on alcohol intake.”
They found that, on average, participants drank about 25 percent fewer alcoholic beverages after using cannabis compared to when alcohol was consumed alone. Noting the importance of the finding, they wrote that marijuana “continues to rank as the most widely used substance among people who drink alcohol.”
For the clinical trial, scientists recruited 61 heavy drinkers who also use cannabis several times a week. Each participant completed two sessions in a mobile laboratory parked outside their homes—a workaround to federal restrictions on handling legal marijuana in campus labs. In one lab, they drank alcohol alone. In the other lab, they first used their own legal-market cannabis before drinking. In both sessions, participants received a standard “priming” drink and then had the opportunity to consume up to four more.
When the researchers broke the group down further, they found that 23 participants, called “substituters,” drank significantly less after cannabis use and reported a consistent drop in alcohol craving. Another 23 “non-substituters” drank the same amount or more, showing little change in craving. Fifteen abstained from drinking altogether during both sessions.
Read more at Marijuana Moment
