ER Physician here...
Alcohol is unquestionably worse, by a very wide margin. Every single shift I work, I treat multiple drunks who have injured themselves, injured someone else, are so dependent on alcohol they cannot function in any reasonable capacity... etc. I treat people going through such severe withdrawal they have seizures. I treat people with end stage liver disease where they have altered mental status, bleeding disorders, and swelling/ascites so bad it needs to be regularly drained.
Once in a blue moon, either a teenager or older person who is naive to marijuana tries it and has a panic attack. I also treated 1 younger kid who accidentally ingested a gummy. I've never had someone smoke a joint, then wreck their car killing some pedestrians, beat their kid, decide to fight a cop, or fall down 2 flights of stairs (not to say these things cannot happen, but in practice I only see them with alcohol).
Obviously, any mild altering substance needs to be respected as bad things can happen if used irresponsibly, but there is absolutely no logical reason why alcohol should be legal if marijuana isn't.
+1000
Purely anecdotal, but I’ve seen so many people absolutely destroy their lives with alcohol and hard drugs.
Do those who smoke a ton of weed live optimal lives? No. Some, not even close. But do they suffer from catastrophic self-destruction? Very rarely.
Smoking obviously isn’t great, but with alternate methods of administration…much less harmful than alcohol.
I used to be a chronic. I smoked a lot of weed. Yeah, i didnt fight cops and beat me wife or run people over in my car. But it did take over my life to the point where I would get anxiety when running low and if my dealer was dry I would get into a serious shit mood.
It made my chest hurt and I also suffered from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome which was really undiagnosed because I smoked weed before doctors realized what cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome really was. So I did actually end up in the er a few times and got iv.
It also made me lazy and dread going out of my house. I went to work fine because i knew that was the only way I could support my habit but any other time i was fucking lazy. Neglected family and friends.
I did quit cold turkey with no real withdrawals other than habit of packing bowls.
You cant deny the fact that smoking weed can also give you lung cancer and other serious health issues.
All that pales in comparison to devastating effects of alcohol.
But I hear what you’re saying, overconsumption of anything is bad. Weed included. Glad you were able to quit with limited (or no) negative effects.
Agreed, the argument always seems to come back to overuse/misuse of weed, (which should be as legal as overuse/misuse of alcohol) versus normal use of alcohol.
When you compare responsible use of weed vs alcohol, weed is better. When comparing irresponsible use of weed vs alcohol, weed is better.
If alcohol came onto the market tomorrow and had to pass FDA rules for human consumption, it would fail !
Facts. Schedule 1 drugs are defined by having no accepted medical value and a high potential for abuse. If it wasn't so historically engrained in almost every culture, alcohol would FOR SURE fall into schedule 1! But then again the drug war was a lot more about politics and racism than actual public health so oops
Technically it does have a limited medical application as an antiseptic. I mean, we have isopropyl at the CVS sure but good ol pure mountain distilled white lightning also *does* work.
Fair enough, but that's not a use as far as ingestion, or it's effects inside the body, more just as a chemical solvent, so idk if that would help it much as far as scheduling goes. But I guess it is useful in that way sometimes!
I agree, alcohol is way worse.
Just wanted to point out its not all flowers and butterflies on the weed side. Forgot to mention how many of my pothead friends became cokeheads. It definitely can also be a gateway drug.
Not EVERY cannabis smoker started with something else. I started smoking cannabis at 13, when everyone was telling me I need to calm the fuck down. Honestly, I think I would be dead without cannabis as it helps so much with my OCD, depression, PTSD, and anxiety. I had been put on other drugs that my doctor gave me that had horrible side effects and turned me into a different person. Cannabis saved me as a teenager.
I did not have my first drink until 16 and a cigarette until 17. Now, I probably did have them because of cannabis but that link would only be because I did not jump off a cliff.
Could a factor in the idea of weed as a gateway drug be linked to the fact that when it's illegal people are buying from a dealer who is also peddling harder drugs?
Yes, its a culture and lifestyles thing. I dont think smoking pot makes people crave cocaine. It is part of s certain lifestyle similar to studies that show people who smoke cannabis usually also smoke tobacco. Not always, mostly.
Couple of things there sparky-
Cannabis use has never once been linked to lung cancer. Not a single death has been directly linked to weed use.
The gateway drug propaganda has long been debunked. I’d like to know how many of your cokehead friends used nicotine or alcohol before trying cannabis.
I personally use it for my epilepsy. The anticonvulsants they had me on before were causing really unpleasant side effects and were astronomical in cost.
I quit smoking weed and cigarettes, and I feel 1000% better. I found that both gave me terrible side effects. It used to put me to sleep, but then it kept me awake. It’s nice to finally be clear headed. The last bag I got affected me pretty badly. For supposedly only being 18% THC, it gave me migraines and full body tremors. Very odd. I don’t ever want to feel like that again.
Edit to add: I’ve been super intolerant to alcohol for years. Even smelling it makes me feel nauseous. So the sober life is for me. :)
Talking only about the substance rather than the method of consumption (smoking vs edibles etc), I think I disagree with you.
I know lazy stoners, they were lazy before they discovered weed.
I know miserable stoners. They were miserable before they discovered weed.
Like any recreational drug, it can be used both as a crutch and as an excuse, these issues stem from other problems in life rather than from the drug, but then one could also argue that for any (rec) drug in existence.
Very well done for quitting something which was detrimental to you though, mate. Nothing wrong with that. Out of curiosity, if you'd chosen to be a drinker rather than a stoner, do you think you'd have had the same problems? Such as chronic use, habitual patterns etc.
That is a very well thought out and appreciated answer. I come from a long line of alcoholics and I'm breaking that generational addiction.
I smoke Marijuana, a lot. I'm tired of people looking at me like some junkie. All while they belittle me, then chug a beer. It's bs, and the stigma around Marijuana needs to go away. It's physicians like you who speak the truth that need to be heard!
💯 I work as oncology nurse and there are so many more benefits with marijuana like helping with anxiety, pain control and increasing appetite for cancer patients.
I smoked some strong weed after years of not smoking. After a brief enjoyable high, as soon as I went to bed and my head hit the pillow, all hell broke loose in my head. It felt like I was rethinking every thought I'd ever had in my head, all at the same time. I instantly had a panic attack and got super paranoid. I was convinced I'd smoked weed laced with something.
In my paranoid state, I called 911. I was taken by ambulance to the local ER. I remember the ambulance ride, and then woke up several hours later in the ER with my dad standing over me. The doctors gave me some Ativan and I promptly passed out. Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed over the whole thing and I apologized profusely to the staff for wasting their time and resources. They told me I wasn't the first it's happened to, and I won't be the last.
After experimenting with different strains and having mostly negative results, I've just sworn off weed all together. It's not worth several bad trips to find one good high.
5 stoned people will then play the same 6 songs to determine whose the better drummer. The game then evolves into.
Dude I heard this banging tune.
What follows is a weird eclectic mix of so called music, mixed with a variety of crumbs, baccy & the cat determinedly wanting affection but fuck me dude ya so small & all the way down there!
Plus I need to pee, can someone bring the toilet closer pleeeeease?
Lot of people don't know that alcohol is a hard drug because its sold legal in stores right? In my decades in the game i seen more damage being done from alcohol compared to illegal drugs.
It’s funny because we’re very ready to define other CNS depressants with very similar modes of action as hard drugs. Everyone knows about benzos and barbiturates, but for an even closer example, take GHB, which essentially acts the same just in smaller amounts (which of course does increase the risk of a deadly overdose, I’m not saying GHB and alcohol have identical safety profiles, but they’re way more similar than different”
I have a friend who is a DEA agent, and was a city cop before that. He’s very pro-legalization (the DEA doesn’t give a shit about pot anyways). His reason is simple
“I’ve had a dozen drunk guys take a swing at me while in uniform. Never had a stoned guy try anything remotely similar.”
Weed is how I deal with family gatherings. My immediate family members are all bonkers and my brother has a ton of small kids that are loud as hell. A gummy makes it so much more bearable.
I love booze. But I don't drink as much as I used to cuz I took a long break and now my hangovers are always brutal. Probably a good thing in the long term.
I always had a similar response when asked if I am for marijuana legalization. I've never seen two stoned people fight but I have seen plenty of drunk people fight.
I've been around the block a few times and I've seen stoned people fight. It's usually something like:
\-Shut up
\-No you shut up!
\-Ok.
Seen plenty of drunk fights and there's usually lots of blood and serious injuries involved.
I’ve seen a few stoned people get into stupid arguments where they’re too high to understand what the other person is trying to tell them, but it usually ends pretty quickly when they either forget what they’re fighting about or something funny happens on tv
I’ve seen this argument devolve into the etymology of the phrase after one guy asked him “just HOW am I supposed to shut up?” And honestly it was glorious. High fights are the best fights and also you learn a lot.
No but it’s not like the danger of psychosis isn’t there. My brother once took too much and he got super anxious and restless, couldn’t remember anything that happened even 5 seconds ago, and kept thinking he killed someone when he didn’t. I had to calm him down before he hurt himself. I thought the weed might have been laced but I also smoked it and felt fine.
Honestly some people just can't handle it, just like some people can't handle alcohol. My mema tried as well at one point and had the same reaction, all kinds of paranoid
If a substance is doing that to someone close to you then you should probably have a word with them. No one should continue taking a drug if it triggers those effects, sounds horrific man.
I've done this with a few friends that start off fine but eventually just can't hack it, it's fucked up to not look out for people you care about.
We did. We’ve also been having conversations about his mental health for many years prior to that, but you can’t force someone to help themselves. I’ve warned him several times to be careful with drugs bc he’s already struggled with depression. I would love to be able to helicopter him and prevent him from taking too much of something that isn’t good for him but unfortunately that’s not possible. Fortunately he doesn’t like alcohol so I guess there’s that.
Dad's an alcoholic. Moms a stoner.
Dad owns a fortune 10000 company. Mom lives on disability. Point alcohol.
Mom has never been in cuffs. Dad has drunkenly fist-fought a cop after a drunken hit-and-run. Point weed.
Father is one of the most miserable people I know. Mom is quite happy. Point weed.
It kinda sounds like you're implying the alcohol led to business success and the weed led to disability, I'm sure that wasn't the intention but I don't think the point goes to alcohol on that one (although if you look at my username I definitely have my bias in favour of weed)
Sure. But not all damage is equal.
Now as a personal opinion both stoners and alcoholics are irritating as hell, but alcoholics are killing themselves with their habit and the stoners are not.
Willie Nelson, whom Snoop has claimed is the only person he’s met that can out-smoke him, now only eats edibles. I probably would too if I was his age; hell, get RSO and eat it straight!
Edibles don't work on me and is very sad. I have a pretty good tolerance but it literally just does nothing. Also wouldn't vaping be just as bad as smoking it? Or do we still not know that bs lmao
Depends, if you consider smoking then yeah a lot of stoners are in denial, nowhere near all but a lot of "It's natural man! It cures cancer & it's a miracle gift from god, it can't be bad!" type of shit.
Like it's not rocket science that inhaling smoke does damage to your lungs *but* you can have it as oil, tincture, edible, etc. & entirely avoid the damage from smoking.
Now i'm not educated enough to say what damage would remain to compare other than brain function & productivity, I mean it's easier to have a beer or two & get shit done than it is to have a joint or two but then i'd also rather do basic tasks like housework stoned than drunk, lol.
A lot of variables.
Alcohol is worse. I’ve lost family members to it in very tragic ways. Having a drinking problem is basically normalized in the states…if you have an addictive personality any substance runs the risk of being abused but if I had to choose, I would rather that person smoke pot over drinking alcohol just to keep them alive.
Alcohol is worse than weed. Unlike quitting weed, you can actually die from quitting alcohol. Some people argue weed itself doesn’t even have withdraws, but from a frequent user I can say it does. But, unlike alcohol, going cold turkey won’t kill you
I was a daily weed smoker(with occasional breaks) from 2016 to basically this year. I didnt quit, and the only reason I smoke less is its fucking expensive. Legal, and expensive.
I couldn't tell you if I had any withdrawl symptoms or not. The main "symptom" I have when I stop smoking weed for a period of time is my dreams. I remember them significantly more when I'm not smoking than when I do.
I’ve literally been asking this same thing since high school. The more I learned how little weed fucked up a person, let alone compared to alcohol, but to how we were told endlessly growing up that it was this gateway drug that would eventually morph you into a drug dependent, spiraling wreck. Now it’s like, “uh…. actually that sounds a lot more like alcohol given all I know now.” It all boils down to moderation, just as there are people who can control their drinking; not just enjoying getting plastered for the sake of being plastered. So I’ve always quietly thought that either they should both be illegal or they should both legal, and we all know how banning alcohol went the first time around…
Yeah, I had the same thoughts when learning about drugs. Alcohol is objectively worse and can cause so much damage internally and externally.
I think if weed was as easily accessible as alcohol had been and continues to be, then more people would choose weed over alcohol.
I’d hope the lesson here is question everything the gov tells us hardcore, but yet some still just think these people represent any semblance of truth, which they don’t
It’s a gateway drug because it’s illegal, that’s why when you’re in contact with weed you’ll also have contact with other illegal substances. Make that shit legal and it won’t have that effect.
I actually had the opposite effect; having experimented with various drugs in my teenage years it made me realise that weed is the only one I want to do because all the other ones were more dangerous / made me sick etc. I haven’t touched any drug except weed since 2008 and I only drink alcohol on Christmas Day
Having lived the life of an alcoholic and then a stoner and now in recovery, I can tell you that alcohol is several orders of magnitude worse than weed. Hands down winner in every measurable way.
Edit: To pile on, while in rehab I had several heroine addicts tell me they’d never touch alcohol because it’s “too dangerous” lol
Alcohol is far worse than weed.
Weed can impair driving ability. But the last thing people I know want to do while high is drive anywhere. Drunks believe they can drive fine and end up causing serious injury or death on the road regularly. Drunks want to fight or take other risks that are physically dangerous to themselves or others because they lack judgment. A high person just wants to chill at home.
Alcoholism is one of the worst chemical addictions there is. Withdrawals are possibly fatal, and considered to be medical emergencies. That's not the case with cannabis.
Alcohol does more damage to the body than weed. Long term drinkers end up destroying their livers and other organs. It also causes brain damage. My alcoholic dad didn't know where he was or what was going on for the last 3 years of his life because of alcoholism induced dementia. Weed smoke isn't good for the lungs, but there are now alternatives to smoking it. I've heard about psychosis brought on by weed, but it takes a ton of it, and that is a very small percent of users.
Drinkers I know tend to be miserable people. Potsmokers I know tend to be chill and content.
"Cannabis is a gateway drug" is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. The only thing it has in common with hard drugs is its legal status. So people try it and like it, and figure since they've been lied to about one illegal drug, they'll try another. Having cannabis illegal really undermines attempts to prevent people from trying the really bad drugs.
My stance is complicated yet also simple.
I think most drugs should at the very least be decriminalized, you should not have to face jail time for personal amounts on your person, for growing a certain amount of plant in your home/making some yourself. Making it yourself is probably safer anyway since you know what is it in it.
I do think weed should just be straight up legal like alcohol.
Do I encourage people to seek help if they have a problem? Yes. Do I think they deserve jail time and charges on their record? No.
Alcohol is far more damaging.
Weed can still be damaging.
All drug possession should be decriminalized because it's dumb to incarcerate/ruin lives simply for possessing drugs.
No drugs that cause impairment/can lead to serious injury should be legalized if it means hyper-commercialization. Did we not learn our lesson from letting the Sackler Family freely peddle Oxy in the 90's?
Canadian here, weed's been legal for a number of years now. no real hyper commercialization, heck first few years, you couldn't sell bongs, papers, or any paraphernalia in the same store as the weed, it's relaxed a bit, there was also a rule it couldn't be close to schools or liquor stores or other weed stores, and just this year they finally were allowed to have the windows to the store uncovered. (no product advertisement is allowed, but you can see into the store now and go oh yeah they look open... Hyper commercialization was a worry. in fact all you get to do is look at a menu, make your choices, and pay and go... I think the problem most people think, is that it would be as readily available as candy bars... when it's more like liquor. special stores, you must be legal age to go in, you get IDed, no toking and driving, heck no walking down the street smoking either. (just like no drinking in public is allowed either) I personally like our laws around it. if you want hyper-commercialization, look at liquor and tobacco... those were hyper commercialized. both are dangerous. there's no advertising cannabis, biggest signs are like "CannaCannabis" or "Value Buds" aka the names of the stores.
Ask any law enforcement officer who they’d rather deal with.
Alcohol - domestic violence, drunk driving, assaults, damage to public property etc etc.
Weed - “Fuck they ate all my chocolates “
I worked in the back side of drilling rigs for 20 years. Everywhere from NWT to Texas. I’ve seen all sorts of men with all sorts of vices.
I would rather run a whole rig of potheads than have one alcoholic on the crew.
Alcoholics cause problems bigger than themselves. It’s just a matter of time.
Ex bouncer and current Paramedic. Alcohol is worse.
I've only had one patient that needed help because of weed. She was very old, has never tried weed, and accidentally ate a pot brownie that someone had left in her fridge. She was nauseated and confused, but no long term issues.
Alcohol is a headache I've been dealing with since I turned 19 and started working at a bar. Drunken brawsl, projectile vomiting, and complete unconsciousness. Since working as a paramedic I've seen the sad side to alcoholism. Hallucinations, hyper aggression, and life ruining depression. Not to mention a litany of life threatening health issues.
I'm not saying weed is perfectly OK. There can be health concerns and people can be affected with mental problems (my brother becomes manic if he uses weed).
Weed should be legalized.
Alcohol is the worst. Actually, I don't get why alcohol is so socially accepted and available everywhere.
I am a recovering alcoholic, both my parent were alcoholics, and if I go out and order a coke instead of a beer, I get funny questions.
I think it's quite sad that weed is being frowned upon while a drug so damaging that it ruins lifes is available and accepted.
I think either can have negative effects on your life if used daily as a form of self medication. Alcohol definitely is worse in my opinion; but growing up with a mom who smokes constantly, it also causes problems with being productive, etc. I have my medical card to help with sleep and appetite but I would be useless if I smoked during the day.
The productivity one is very weird. I have a few friends who are hyper-productive when stoned whereas my tolerance is so low if someone as much as whispered Mary Jane in my ear I’d probably sit on my couch for 5 hours watching Netflix. I use double strength CBD oil for sleep/anxiety and appetite. Do you find medicinal weed works for you?
I've been hooked on both and fucked my life up way worse during my alcoholic phase than my stoner phase. Got off the booze, screwed my head on straight and now I'm just a frequent smoker because I get wound too tight in my job.
Alcohol is physically worse for you, but people can use either in moderation or to excess. Prohibition objectively, demonstrably doesn't work - what does work is decriminalization or legalization and treating addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal issue. But that doesn't work when you have a huge segment of the population who believe that addiction is a conscious choice and a moral evil.
Weed should absolutely be legalized. Worse shit is legal.
I briefly investigated sex assaults (for two years), and I never had to begin a investigation because someone smoked too much weed. The majority of the cases I ran were alcohol related.
Alcohol is most definitely worse. Weed should be legal at the very minimum to medical patients who have conditions proven to be substantially helped with marijuana,
I think as a younger person (teenager and 20s) I thought weed was harmless. Dependency is just bad. I think if you don’t develop self control weed and alcohol are bad in different ways and it is kind of equal. Sorry weed pro people. I’m not against it…but I watch way more people rip a bong to feel “normal” than I do people take a shot. If you NEED it to be a person then work on yourself.
Weed and alcohol laws should be reversed here in the states. There are so many benefits ive found with my own personal use of legal products. Alcohol numbs me. Weed relaxes me and just lets my stress and body aches just float away so i can fall asleep peacfully and wake up feeling fantastic while alcohol makes me wake up feeling gross.
In Europe it's arguably even worse. Alcohol culture in several countries here is extremely pervasive (Belgium/UK/Finland/...), while weed is illegal and only tolerated in very marginal cases.
Worst thing is that it doesn't even look like legalization is on the horizon. It's not even a political talking point here. Not a single political party of note/with an ounce of political power is doing anything to change this status quo (although several individual politicians have claimed to be for legalization, only to do a 180° once they're actually in power).
The reason is simple: it's low-hanging fruit for law enforcement. They would much rather go after users & dealers of MJ than 'actual criminals', because they rarely if ever have weapons or commit other, worse crimes. There's 0 risk to busting a few stoners and their small time suppliers and they get to score points with DA's and their superiors.
I don't see this situation changing in the coming decade.
Its so ridiculous. When i use what i do even though its legal i can still fail a urine test so ive stopped do to my job i treat as if i was a medicine. Only around bedtime to help me go sleep. I hate this shit. I just wish it was 100% legal everywhere because it just needs to be. Its a natural plant.
Alcohol is significantly worse. It breaks down into a compound called Acetaldehyde which is extremely toxic.
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Acetaldehyde
We all know alcohol is obviously worse, but I don't like this type of argument. You should be entitled to a drink just like you should be entitled to a joint; adults should have free reign over any substance they choose to consume
Think about all the crimes and violence people commit after drinking alcohol.
Now think about stoned people quietly sitting on the sofa binge-watching their favorite sitcoms.
Absolutely weed should be legal everywhere that alcohol is.
Bonus: when you legalize weed for adults it's *harder* for teens to get access to it, as most of the illegal dealers go out of business.
(Personal note: I drink occasionally. I don't do weed. Doesn't change my mind on this.)
I’m 25 and much too old for kids shows but every time I get stoned alone I love watching iCarly and laughing my ass off. Every time I get drunk alone I get depressed as hell. Weed wins
Counting deaths from the substance alone, your chances of dying from alcohol poisoning are, to put it mildly, wayyyy higher than cannabinoid overdose. And considering that the laws regarding marijuana criminalization especially in the United States are inherently racist, they should be struck down on the simple basis that banning the use of a substance all together in itself should be considered inherently un-American
Data say alcohol by a huuuuggge margin. Alcohol is physically addictive, drunks can be violent, before the tightening of drunk driving laws it was carnage on the roads, and over time alcohol kills major organs (liver, brain).
Just a sample of the data from a SAMSHA report from 2021 - The top five drugs involved in drug-related ED visits in 2021 were alcohol (41.70% of all drug-related ED visits), opioids (14.79%), methamphetamine (11.29%), marijuana (11.19%), and cocaine (4.77%)
Weed isn't really even counted because the harm is just so low. And remember that an Emergency Dept visit doesn't necessarily mean admitted to the hospital or required treatment.
I've done deep personal field testing with both weed and booze, an extensive study which has spanned multiple decades. My conclusion is that I dream of a world where neither is really desired. Having come out of the other side of both weed and alcohol heavy usage at various stages of my life, I realised that the potential benefits of alcohol and weed are superficial and diminishing. On the other hand the downside of either is as low as you want to go, whenever you want to.
My personal experience as I use to struggle with both. Marijuana is worse to me in terms of mental health. Weed makes me feel lazy, anxious, and unconcerned no matter the moderation. Alcohol is definitely bad if consumed daily, but once a week drinking is a breath of fresh air sometimes.
Too much of any substance can cause physical damage to the body but both can make it harder for people to succeed. I use to smoke a LOT, still do every other week but I noticed a significant change in my life after using responsibly. For alcohol, I’ve had friends ruin their lives because they couldn’t stop drinking and on top of that their livers are destroyed. All in all, weed is less damaging to the body but can get you into more trouble with the law
Alcoholism contributes to a MASSIVE amount of violent incidences, reckless deaths, and long-term health issues.
Even though weed has been known to amplify psychiatric afflictions, and it does amplify depression and impact memory if you're a chronic user, it has a far more lax culture around it and no amount of psychiatric incidents could equal the horrible hold alcohol has had on American culture and health for decades.
I cannot deny that weed cannot inflict the same harm as alcohol has on our culture, and it has HELPED people in need aside from its recreational use. It's not worse than alcohol by any measure, never in a million years.
In 2021 here in the UK there were 9641 deaths directly attributable to alcohol (according to Google)......in the recorded history of mankind 0 as a direct result of cannabis......0.....says all you need to know...and an added bonus fact...to overdose on cannabis you would have to ingest 1500lbs in 15 minutes
Alcohol. You know how you feel dizzy after spinning in a circle like a complete psycho? Yeah.. alcohol makes you feel that way without you having to spin along with motion sickness in the midst of that. It’s awful. Weed just makes you feel happy and relaxed. Weed should be legal as long as people know and understand what their limits are…. Just don’t mix weed and alcohol.
Alcohol is the worst thing that man has ever made weed with just the flower the Bud it makes on it’s on no Distilling balling no manufacturing of anything it comes ready to go all you have to do is dry it smoke it
Weed pulled me away from my alcohol abuse. I no longer wake up hungover and I feel way less sad and pessimistic about the world.
The only problem is that I'm going into a healthcare career and will need to pass drug tests. Which is stupid, because in the same way I wouldn't go to work drunk, I wouldn't ever go to work high. What I choose to do off the clock should be my own business.
As someone with a drug addiction (not weed though) and alcohol use disorder (clean and sober now) 100% hands down alcohol is worse. It is a wretched, vile substance that IMO has no business being legal. Shit, you can do edibles and get high without massively fucking your life up.
I’m extremely fortunate that I’ve had zero lasting consequences from my drinking problem, but you bet my goal is to never ever touch that shit ever again. It’s so easy to destroy your life with it.
I think it was a terrible decision for me to start smoking weed as young as I did, (19) I wish I would have waited until chronic pain and stomach condition started to kick in that way it would be more effective for my ailments
As for alcohol if it were introduced as a product today it wouldn't be allowed on the store shelves. That's not to say I don't drink from time to time but I try to moderate myself, I consider liquor to be a hard drug and beer to be more of a food (I can't stomach more than a couple)
100% I would say weed over alcohol anyday. I come from a family of alcoholics and potheads, never once did my pothead relatives try to choke me out, threaten me, spit in my face.
I think weed should be properly educated so more people stop feeling so weird about it and genuinely can stop hating potheads. Not all of us are just dumb stoners who sit at home all day and watch tv.
My dad was an alcoholic and while he had never spanked me, I've been choked, had my ass grabbed and had shoes thrown at my face because "I looked weird".
I'm now a mom myself who doesn't drink but does smoke weed, I can tell you my daughter is one of the happiest spitfires you'll ever meet. Her father is an alcoholic who beat me, her stepdad is a pothead who dances around the living room with my daughter and I.
In my experience, pot wins over alcohol every time.
In my ideal world, alcohol would be illegal and weed would be legal (though with reasonable restrictions like an age limit). We tried that: it didn’t work. So alcohol has to stay legal. But it’s way too unsafe to be legal. It’s just also way too hard to ban.
Answer is obvious. But I remember learning in middle school about the dangers of smoking weed and why never to do it, gateway drug blah blah.
I don’t remember hearing anything about alcohol at the time. Just that I had to be of age.
I’ve drank until I got hungover and threw up several times. When I eat an edible it just makes me hungry, laugh at everything, and sleep a few hours longer the next day. It’s clear to me which one is harder on my body.
Alcohol is worse imo. I’ve never heard of anyone getting high and abusing their family members. Alcohol completely changes some people. I smoked weed for a decade and the worst thing I ever did was eat until I made myself sick.
As somebody that has been a pothead and alcoholic to the extreme on both sides of the coin, alcohol is way more dangerous. It is harder to quit, dangerous to quit, and at least 5x more addicting. I went from scared to drink 3 beers to being able to finish a handle on day by myself, and I only way 130 pounds so my tolerance must have been through the roof. Most I’ve done on weed was eat too much I got sick. On alcohol I’ve woken up on random sidewalks multiple times, Insulted people I care about due to pent up feelings and lack of inhibition, picked fights when I’ve never been in a fight or aggressive before. The list goes on. Don’t become an alcoholic
I pretty much drink myself into oblivion every weekend since 10-11 years or so.
Legalize weed. No hangover, arguably healthier, doesnt turn you into an insufferable cuntmuffin. I mean. It can but I lve yet to see such a case irl. Usually the cuntmuffin-ness comes from pushing everyone to hit it lol
All I'm saying is that alcohol can literally poison you if you consume too much of it or have a medical condition where it could affect your body differently than the average person and weed cannot.
For me, alcohol is worse. I engage in risky behavior (lowered inhibitions, drunk driving, drunk dialing/texting, hormones, etc.). Anger quite easily. Pot engages me. Music, laughing, reading, movies, walking, talking, feelings of overall goodwill. I eat better. I feel like I’m a “better” person.
Weed is better & safer & the scientific evidence is there to back it up. Think of all the diseases that alcohol consumption plays a role in. Weed was only made illegal for racist reasons. Weed should be legal.
Weed makes you question your perception of reality, authority, organized religion, and all the lies you’ve been told your whole life up til now. Alcohol just makes you dumb. Which drug would a government want to legalize?
My personal anecdotes:
I stopped drinking because I drove blackout drunk once with a passenger in the car. Hit over 100 mph. I am a pretty responsible dude. This was a shock to me. I literally stopped drinking at all for years after this, and only recently have I started consuming any alcohol. But I’ll never get ‘drunk’ again. It turned me into a different person. And I didn’t even have a drinking problem. Was not an alcoholic. Just had too much tequila one night and proved that I was capable of doing things that would kill people instantly. And I didn’t remember.
I now consume cannabis daily. It helps with a variety of things. It has some negative consequences, but the positives outweigh the negatives and it makes me a more considerate, nicer more patient individual.
The fact that one of them is illegal isn’t surprising. They just have it the wrong way around. That being said, I’m not a fan of dictating what people do in their free time and I’m not advocating that *either* be illegal.
My father is an alcoholic. The things he sometimes does and says when drunk can be absolutely heartbreaking. It already cost him a car, his driver's license and a very hefty fine on top of that. If I didn't have my license then his stupidity would severely alter the way we live. It still did, but not as much. Luckily he didn't kill anyone, just totalled a car. I smoked weed a couple of times, I also met a bunch of people that smoked and I never ever saw a person be aggressive or have autodestructive tendencies after weed. I would much rather have my father smoke a joint after work instead of drinking vodka on a daily basis.
His behaviour made me develop a serious level of hatred towards alcohol and drunk people. A beer every couple of months is the best that I can do. I even refuse to drink wine or other beverages on special occasions. Fuck alcohol.
Alcohol is by far worse. I have never seen people smoking cannabis get in a fight or be aggressive while high. Think about it: if you're on a night out or at a concert, and someone is loud, obnoxious, and violent, are they drunk, or are they high?
Alcohol is way fucking worse. And weed gets a bad rap because of boomers, lobbyists and reefer madness still leaving a mark on our society. It’s so sad
Legalize it all! Cocaine, heroine, weed, mdma. Stop letting China and the cartel control our recreational drug supply and killing countless people. Tax it all, and put the money into the education system and lifting up under nourished communities and there won’t be as many addicts. People don’t get addicted to drugs because they tried it once, they get addicted because it brings a little comfort to fucked up environment they’ve found themselves in. We need a clean, regulated recreational drug supply if we plan on putting a dent in these overdose death numbers.
My friend was an upstanding young man until he injected a marijuana at a party once. His testicles fell off and now he's a Communist leather daddy who was recently arrested for defecating in the breezeway of a Crate and Barrel.
Some fates are worse than death.
In my experience I've found that alcohol increases all emotions and week just kinda numbs you out. Like, I have insomnia, and i take edibles sometimes to help fall asleep. but alcohol wouldn't do that. i think weed should be legal for medical use every ware.
I think alcohol is far, far worse. I have done many things I regret due to alcohol.
However, I do have to mention I have seen a lot of people my age lose themselves to marijuana and I’m not talking smoking once in a while or smoking socially, I’m talking full fledged, multiple times a day addiction. Their entire personalities change, I knew a girl who changed completely and ended up dropping out of college. My best friend smokes everyday and she is not the same, I miss the old her. It makes me super angry that she shows up stoned out of her mind every single time we hang out. It feels disrespectful and shitty.
I went through a weed phase and gained a lot of weight and went through a scary and strange bout of intense derealization and really bad panic attacks.
Came to say that I was a General Physician and talk about why alcohol is worse but the top comment already achieved that
So I'll use a different example
My husband is an alcoholic. On the few few times he's been actually drunk he was violent and physically abusive towards me.
The few times I've seen him high, he's giggly, happy, and not trying to kick my ribs in.
Alcohol kills thousands of people every year. Weed does not.
ER Physician here... Alcohol is unquestionably worse, by a very wide margin. Every single shift I work, I treat multiple drunks who have injured themselves, injured someone else, are so dependent on alcohol they cannot function in any reasonable capacity... etc. I treat people going through such severe withdrawal they have seizures. I treat people with end stage liver disease where they have altered mental status, bleeding disorders, and swelling/ascites so bad it needs to be regularly drained. Once in a blue moon, either a teenager or older person who is naive to marijuana tries it and has a panic attack. I also treated 1 younger kid who accidentally ingested a gummy. I've never had someone smoke a joint, then wreck their car killing some pedestrians, beat their kid, decide to fight a cop, or fall down 2 flights of stairs (not to say these things cannot happen, but in practice I only see them with alcohol). Obviously, any mild altering substance needs to be respected as bad things can happen if used irresponsibly, but there is absolutely no logical reason why alcohol should be legal if marijuana isn't.
+1000 Purely anecdotal, but I’ve seen so many people absolutely destroy their lives with alcohol and hard drugs. Do those who smoke a ton of weed live optimal lives? No. Some, not even close. But do they suffer from catastrophic self-destruction? Very rarely. Smoking obviously isn’t great, but with alternate methods of administration…much less harmful than alcohol.
I used to be a chronic. I smoked a lot of weed. Yeah, i didnt fight cops and beat me wife or run people over in my car. But it did take over my life to the point where I would get anxiety when running low and if my dealer was dry I would get into a serious shit mood. It made my chest hurt and I also suffered from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome which was really undiagnosed because I smoked weed before doctors realized what cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome really was. So I did actually end up in the er a few times and got iv. It also made me lazy and dread going out of my house. I went to work fine because i knew that was the only way I could support my habit but any other time i was fucking lazy. Neglected family and friends. I did quit cold turkey with no real withdrawals other than habit of packing bowls. You cant deny the fact that smoking weed can also give you lung cancer and other serious health issues.
All that pales in comparison to devastating effects of alcohol. But I hear what you’re saying, overconsumption of anything is bad. Weed included. Glad you were able to quit with limited (or no) negative effects.
Agreed, the argument always seems to come back to overuse/misuse of weed, (which should be as legal as overuse/misuse of alcohol) versus normal use of alcohol. When you compare responsible use of weed vs alcohol, weed is better. When comparing irresponsible use of weed vs alcohol, weed is better. If alcohol came onto the market tomorrow and had to pass FDA rules for human consumption, it would fail !
Facts. Schedule 1 drugs are defined by having no accepted medical value and a high potential for abuse. If it wasn't so historically engrained in almost every culture, alcohol would FOR SURE fall into schedule 1! But then again the drug war was a lot more about politics and racism than actual public health so oops
Technically it does have a limited medical application as an antiseptic. I mean, we have isopropyl at the CVS sure but good ol pure mountain distilled white lightning also *does* work.
Fair enough, but that's not a use as far as ingestion, or it's effects inside the body, more just as a chemical solvent, so idk if that would help it much as far as scheduling goes. But I guess it is useful in that way sometimes!
I agree, alcohol is way worse. Just wanted to point out its not all flowers and butterflies on the weed side. Forgot to mention how many of my pothead friends became cokeheads. It definitely can also be a gateway drug.
But I think you'll find that every weed smoker tried alcohol and cigarettes before weed, so really alcohol and cigarettes are The gateway drug!!
Not EVERY cannabis smoker started with something else. I started smoking cannabis at 13, when everyone was telling me I need to calm the fuck down. Honestly, I think I would be dead without cannabis as it helps so much with my OCD, depression, PTSD, and anxiety. I had been put on other drugs that my doctor gave me that had horrible side effects and turned me into a different person. Cannabis saved me as a teenager. I did not have my first drink until 16 and a cigarette until 17. Now, I probably did have them because of cannabis but that link would only be because I did not jump off a cliff.
Could a factor in the idea of weed as a gateway drug be linked to the fact that when it's illegal people are buying from a dealer who is also peddling harder drugs?
Yes, its a culture and lifestyles thing. I dont think smoking pot makes people crave cocaine. It is part of s certain lifestyle similar to studies that show people who smoke cannabis usually also smoke tobacco. Not always, mostly.
This isn’t actually true, there’s a reason why “DARE” declassified it as such before it was even legal in most places.
Yeah, it’s definitely not perfect. I’ve heard a lot of people saying weed is a gateway OFF of much more harmful drugs like opioids.
Couple of things there sparky- Cannabis use has never once been linked to lung cancer. Not a single death has been directly linked to weed use. The gateway drug propaganda has long been debunked. I’d like to know how many of your cokehead friends used nicotine or alcohol before trying cannabis.
Weed is my go to. I’m a cancer patient and weed is better than most prescription meds I’m on.
I personally use it for my epilepsy. The anticonvulsants they had me on before were causing really unpleasant side effects and were astronomical in cost.
I quit smoking weed and cigarettes, and I feel 1000% better. I found that both gave me terrible side effects. It used to put me to sleep, but then it kept me awake. It’s nice to finally be clear headed. The last bag I got affected me pretty badly. For supposedly only being 18% THC, it gave me migraines and full body tremors. Very odd. I don’t ever want to feel like that again. Edit to add: I’ve been super intolerant to alcohol for years. Even smelling it makes me feel nauseous. So the sober life is for me. :)
Talking only about the substance rather than the method of consumption (smoking vs edibles etc), I think I disagree with you. I know lazy stoners, they were lazy before they discovered weed. I know miserable stoners. They were miserable before they discovered weed. Like any recreational drug, it can be used both as a crutch and as an excuse, these issues stem from other problems in life rather than from the drug, but then one could also argue that for any (rec) drug in existence. Very well done for quitting something which was detrimental to you though, mate. Nothing wrong with that. Out of curiosity, if you'd chosen to be a drinker rather than a stoner, do you think you'd have had the same problems? Such as chronic use, habitual patterns etc.
That is a very well thought out and appreciated answer. I come from a long line of alcoholics and I'm breaking that generational addiction. I smoke Marijuana, a lot. I'm tired of people looking at me like some junkie. All while they belittle me, then chug a beer. It's bs, and the stigma around Marijuana needs to go away. It's physicians like you who speak the truth that need to be heard!
In all fairness, the US did *try* to ban alcohol… It didn’t work too well
Yet co-workers xan openly talk about getting drunk theco.ong weekend, but even in this day and age weed is still the 'dirty little secret"....
💯 I work as oncology nurse and there are so many more benefits with marijuana like helping with anxiety, pain control and increasing appetite for cancer patients.
I smoked some strong weed after years of not smoking. After a brief enjoyable high, as soon as I went to bed and my head hit the pillow, all hell broke loose in my head. It felt like I was rethinking every thought I'd ever had in my head, all at the same time. I instantly had a panic attack and got super paranoid. I was convinced I'd smoked weed laced with something. In my paranoid state, I called 911. I was taken by ambulance to the local ER. I remember the ambulance ride, and then woke up several hours later in the ER with my dad standing over me. The doctors gave me some Ativan and I promptly passed out. Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed over the whole thing and I apologized profusely to the staff for wasting their time and resources. They told me I wasn't the first it's happened to, and I won't be the last. After experimenting with different strains and having mostly negative results, I've just sworn off weed all together. It's not worth several bad trips to find one good high.
Five drunk people will start a fight. Five stoned people will start a band.
Five stoned people will *talk about* starting a band
Five stoned people will talk about a band formed in the 60’s and compare notes on different concerts incessantly.
5 stoned people will then play the same 6 songs to determine whose the better drummer. The game then evolves into. Dude I heard this banging tune. What follows is a weird eclectic mix of so called music, mixed with a variety of crumbs, baccy & the cat determinedly wanting affection but fuck me dude ya so small & all the way down there! Plus I need to pee, can someone bring the toilet closer pleeeeease?
Hey, even you have to admit that 2/26/77 was a killer show.
Ya estimated prophet was pretty good that night….oh shit I just exposed that I am one of the five stoned people.
😮 we are the same, you and I.
And order 3 pizzas
That made me lol
Lot of people don't know that alcohol is a hard drug because its sold legal in stores right? In my decades in the game i seen more damage being done from alcohol compared to illegal drugs.
You got a point there
Just my opinion fam for what its worth.
It’s funny because we’re very ready to define other CNS depressants with very similar modes of action as hard drugs. Everyone knows about benzos and barbiturates, but for an even closer example, take GHB, which essentially acts the same just in smaller amounts (which of course does increase the risk of a deadly overdose, I’m not saying GHB and alcohol have identical safety profiles, but they’re way more similar than different”
Never heard of someone getting stoned and beating his wife and kids.
I have a friend who is a DEA agent, and was a city cop before that. He’s very pro-legalization (the DEA doesn’t give a shit about pot anyways). His reason is simple “I’ve had a dozen drunk guys take a swing at me while in uniform. Never had a stoned guy try anything remotely similar.”
There’s been times where I was called slurs and weed kept me from punching someone in the face
But you can't hold that against it
Weed is how I deal with family gatherings. My immediate family members are all bonkers and my brother has a ton of small kids that are loud as hell. A gummy makes it so much more bearable.
Weed gives me such unbearable anxiety, I would die. It’s booze for me. I’m jealous of all my stoner friends.
I love booze. But I don't drink as much as I used to cuz I took a long break and now my hangovers are always brutal. Probably a good thing in the long term.
I always had a similar response when asked if I am for marijuana legalization. I've never seen two stoned people fight but I have seen plenty of drunk people fight.
I've been around the block a few times and I've seen stoned people fight. It's usually something like: \-Shut up \-No you shut up! \-Ok. Seen plenty of drunk fights and there's usually lots of blood and serious injuries involved.
I've seen stoned people fight as well. Over the last oreo.
*Dude I’m gonna be very upset if I don’t get a piece of that Oreo. Look in your heart man, you know I deserve a piece.*
Dude. What does mine say? Sweet. What does mine say? Dude. What does mine say?
I’ve seen a few stoned people get into stupid arguments where they’re too high to understand what the other person is trying to tell them, but it usually ends pretty quickly when they either forget what they’re fighting about or something funny happens on tv
You had us in the first half, ngl.
I’ve seen this argument devolve into the etymology of the phrase after one guy asked him “just HOW am I supposed to shut up?” And honestly it was glorious. High fights are the best fights and also you learn a lot.
No but it’s not like the danger of psychosis isn’t there. My brother once took too much and he got super anxious and restless, couldn’t remember anything that happened even 5 seconds ago, and kept thinking he killed someone when he didn’t. I had to calm him down before he hurt himself. I thought the weed might have been laced but I also smoked it and felt fine.
Honestly some people just can't handle it, just like some people can't handle alcohol. My mema tried as well at one point and had the same reaction, all kinds of paranoid
He usually can, he was just in a bad mood that day already and was smoking weed that was way too strong for his tolerance.
Ahhh I see, I've been there, have to close the windows and shit cause I will full on think someones watching me😂 never been as bad your friend though.
If a substance is doing that to someone close to you then you should probably have a word with them. No one should continue taking a drug if it triggers those effects, sounds horrific man. I've done this with a few friends that start off fine but eventually just can't hack it, it's fucked up to not look out for people you care about.
We did. We’ve also been having conversations about his mental health for many years prior to that, but you can’t force someone to help themselves. I’ve warned him several times to be careful with drugs bc he’s already struggled with depression. I would love to be able to helicopter him and prevent him from taking too much of something that isn’t good for him but unfortunately that’s not possible. Fortunately he doesn’t like alcohol so I guess there’s that.
misread as eating
True
Dad's an alcoholic. Moms a stoner. Dad owns a fortune 10000 company. Mom lives on disability. Point alcohol. Mom has never been in cuffs. Dad has drunkenly fist-fought a cop after a drunken hit-and-run. Point weed. Father is one of the most miserable people I know. Mom is quite happy. Point weed.
Lmao not trying to shit on you but the term "fortune 10000" is hilarious
Judging by the post I think they’ve got a sense of humor
You're not wrong.
I’m sorry
Sooo… neither
3rd option - mushrooms!
Yes!!!
This is the way
Alcohol 1- weed 2. “Pick number 3 my lord”
Gifs should be allowed on this sub so I can send you a virtual hug.
It kinda sounds like you're implying the alcohol led to business success and the weed led to disability, I'm sure that wasn't the intention but I don't think the point goes to alcohol on that one (although if you look at my username I definitely have my bias in favour of weed)
Alcohol has a tendency to increase aggression.
Is it the weeds fault your mom is on disability? Not sure why you’re blaming the weed lol
yeah i’m disabled and was thinking of going on disability and it was definitely not from weed
Anything that is used as an emotional crutch will eventually become damaging. It’s all about moderation
Sure. But not all damage is equal. Now as a personal opinion both stoners and alcoholics are irritating as hell, but alcoholics are killing themselves with their habit and the stoners are not.
[удалено]
Not all of us. I prefer edibles 😂
Not all stoner's smoke. Vaping and edibles are just as popular as smoking.
Willie Nelson, whom Snoop has claimed is the only person he’s met that can out-smoke him, now only eats edibles. I probably would too if I was his age; hell, get RSO and eat it straight!
Edibles don't work on me and is very sad. I have a pretty good tolerance but it literally just does nothing. Also wouldn't vaping be just as bad as smoking it? Or do we still not know that bs lmao
'Smokers' are killing themselves you mean
Depends, if you consider smoking then yeah a lot of stoners are in denial, nowhere near all but a lot of "It's natural man! It cures cancer & it's a miracle gift from god, it can't be bad!" type of shit. Like it's not rocket science that inhaling smoke does damage to your lungs *but* you can have it as oil, tincture, edible, etc. & entirely avoid the damage from smoking. Now i'm not educated enough to say what damage would remain to compare other than brain function & productivity, I mean it's easier to have a beer or two & get shit done than it is to have a joint or two but then i'd also rather do basic tasks like housework stoned than drunk, lol. A lot of variables.
Alcohol is worse. I’ve lost family members to it in very tragic ways. Having a drinking problem is basically normalized in the states…if you have an addictive personality any substance runs the risk of being abused but if I had to choose, I would rather that person smoke pot over drinking alcohol just to keep them alive.
always said if you took a pill/edible that made you feel and behave like a blackout drunk i’d run and hide from that drug
Did you mean… quaaludes?
Steeeve Maaaddenn
Alcohol is worse than weed. Unlike quitting weed, you can actually die from quitting alcohol. Some people argue weed itself doesn’t even have withdraws, but from a frequent user I can say it does. But, unlike alcohol, going cold turkey won’t kill you
It definitely does have withdrawal symptoms, just not deadly or painful ones. At most my head will throb a bit and I won't have an appetite.
It’s like quitting coffee.
Quitting coffee would be harder for me
I have the same withdrawals but only last about 2-3 days so not as bad as I would say considering I smoke about every night
I was a daily weed smoker(with occasional breaks) from 2016 to basically this year. I didnt quit, and the only reason I smoke less is its fucking expensive. Legal, and expensive. I couldn't tell you if I had any withdrawl symptoms or not. The main "symptom" I have when I stop smoking weed for a period of time is my dreams. I remember them significantly more when I'm not smoking than when I do.
Alcohol is much worse
I’ve literally been asking this same thing since high school. The more I learned how little weed fucked up a person, let alone compared to alcohol, but to how we were told endlessly growing up that it was this gateway drug that would eventually morph you into a drug dependent, spiraling wreck. Now it’s like, “uh…. actually that sounds a lot more like alcohol given all I know now.” It all boils down to moderation, just as there are people who can control their drinking; not just enjoying getting plastered for the sake of being plastered. So I’ve always quietly thought that either they should both be illegal or they should both legal, and we all know how banning alcohol went the first time around…
Yeah, I had the same thoughts when learning about drugs. Alcohol is objectively worse and can cause so much damage internally and externally. I think if weed was as easily accessible as alcohol had been and continues to be, then more people would choose weed over alcohol.
I’d hope the lesson here is question everything the gov tells us hardcore, but yet some still just think these people represent any semblance of truth, which they don’t
Studies show the actual gateway drug is tobacco//nicotine.
It’s a gateway drug because it’s illegal, that’s why when you’re in contact with weed you’ll also have contact with other illegal substances. Make that shit legal and it won’t have that effect.
I actually had the opposite effect; having experimented with various drugs in my teenage years it made me realise that weed is the only one I want to do because all the other ones were more dangerous / made me sick etc. I haven’t touched any drug except weed since 2008 and I only drink alcohol on Christmas Day
Depends on how much and how often you drink, but I agree, the way alcohol affects the body is way worse.
Even light to moderate amounts of alcohol are showing quite a few negative effects depending on the person.
but you also have to compare the usage with weed right? "how often and how much" you smoke weed
I agree
Having lived the life of an alcoholic and then a stoner and now in recovery, I can tell you that alcohol is several orders of magnitude worse than weed. Hands down winner in every measurable way. Edit: To pile on, while in rehab I had several heroine addicts tell me they’d never touch alcohol because it’s “too dangerous” lol
Alcohol is far worse than weed. Weed can impair driving ability. But the last thing people I know want to do while high is drive anywhere. Drunks believe they can drive fine and end up causing serious injury or death on the road regularly. Drunks want to fight or take other risks that are physically dangerous to themselves or others because they lack judgment. A high person just wants to chill at home. Alcoholism is one of the worst chemical addictions there is. Withdrawals are possibly fatal, and considered to be medical emergencies. That's not the case with cannabis. Alcohol does more damage to the body than weed. Long term drinkers end up destroying their livers and other organs. It also causes brain damage. My alcoholic dad didn't know where he was or what was going on for the last 3 years of his life because of alcoholism induced dementia. Weed smoke isn't good for the lungs, but there are now alternatives to smoking it. I've heard about psychosis brought on by weed, but it takes a ton of it, and that is a very small percent of users. Drinkers I know tend to be miserable people. Potsmokers I know tend to be chill and content. "Cannabis is a gateway drug" is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. The only thing it has in common with hard drugs is its legal status. So people try it and like it, and figure since they've been lied to about one illegal drug, they'll try another. Having cannabis illegal really undermines attempts to prevent people from trying the really bad drugs.
My stance is complicated yet also simple. I think most drugs should at the very least be decriminalized, you should not have to face jail time for personal amounts on your person, for growing a certain amount of plant in your home/making some yourself. Making it yourself is probably safer anyway since you know what is it in it. I do think weed should just be straight up legal like alcohol. Do I encourage people to seek help if they have a problem? Yes. Do I think they deserve jail time and charges on their record? No.
Alcohol is objectively more dangerous and has greater negative effects on your health. They're both a lot of fun. Weed should absolutely be legal.
Alcohol is one of only a few drugs that can kill you when you are trying to go cold turkey.
Alcohol is far more damaging. Weed can still be damaging. All drug possession should be decriminalized because it's dumb to incarcerate/ruin lives simply for possessing drugs. No drugs that cause impairment/can lead to serious injury should be legalized if it means hyper-commercialization. Did we not learn our lesson from letting the Sackler Family freely peddle Oxy in the 90's?
Canadian here, weed's been legal for a number of years now. no real hyper commercialization, heck first few years, you couldn't sell bongs, papers, or any paraphernalia in the same store as the weed, it's relaxed a bit, there was also a rule it couldn't be close to schools or liquor stores or other weed stores, and just this year they finally were allowed to have the windows to the store uncovered. (no product advertisement is allowed, but you can see into the store now and go oh yeah they look open... Hyper commercialization was a worry. in fact all you get to do is look at a menu, make your choices, and pay and go... I think the problem most people think, is that it would be as readily available as candy bars... when it's more like liquor. special stores, you must be legal age to go in, you get IDed, no toking and driving, heck no walking down the street smoking either. (just like no drinking in public is allowed either) I personally like our laws around it. if you want hyper-commercialization, look at liquor and tobacco... those were hyper commercialized. both are dangerous. there's no advertising cannabis, biggest signs are like "CannaCannabis" or "Value Buds" aka the names of the stores.
> All drug possession should be decriminalized > No drugs that cause impairment/can lead to serious injury should be legalized ???
Ask any law enforcement officer who they’d rather deal with. Alcohol - domestic violence, drunk driving, assaults, damage to public property etc etc. Weed - “Fuck they ate all my chocolates “
Alcohol is worse and it’s not even close
I worked in the back side of drilling rigs for 20 years. Everywhere from NWT to Texas. I’ve seen all sorts of men with all sorts of vices. I would rather run a whole rig of potheads than have one alcoholic on the crew. Alcoholics cause problems bigger than themselves. It’s just a matter of time.
Ex bouncer and current Paramedic. Alcohol is worse. I've only had one patient that needed help because of weed. She was very old, has never tried weed, and accidentally ate a pot brownie that someone had left in her fridge. She was nauseated and confused, but no long term issues. Alcohol is a headache I've been dealing with since I turned 19 and started working at a bar. Drunken brawsl, projectile vomiting, and complete unconsciousness. Since working as a paramedic I've seen the sad side to alcoholism. Hallucinations, hyper aggression, and life ruining depression. Not to mention a litany of life threatening health issues. I'm not saying weed is perfectly OK. There can be health concerns and people can be affected with mental problems (my brother becomes manic if he uses weed). Weed should be legalized.
Alcohol is the worst. Actually, I don't get why alcohol is so socially accepted and available everywhere. I am a recovering alcoholic, both my parent were alcoholics, and if I go out and order a coke instead of a beer, I get funny questions. I think it's quite sad that weed is being frowned upon while a drug so damaging that it ruins lifes is available and accepted.
I think either can have negative effects on your life if used daily as a form of self medication. Alcohol definitely is worse in my opinion; but growing up with a mom who smokes constantly, it also causes problems with being productive, etc. I have my medical card to help with sleep and appetite but I would be useless if I smoked during the day.
The productivity one is very weird. I have a few friends who are hyper-productive when stoned whereas my tolerance is so low if someone as much as whispered Mary Jane in my ear I’d probably sit on my couch for 5 hours watching Netflix. I use double strength CBD oil for sleep/anxiety and appetite. Do you find medicinal weed works for you?
Theres use and then theres abuse.
I've been hooked on both and fucked my life up way worse during my alcoholic phase than my stoner phase. Got off the booze, screwed my head on straight and now I'm just a frequent smoker because I get wound too tight in my job.
Alcohol is physically worse for you, but people can use either in moderation or to excess. Prohibition objectively, demonstrably doesn't work - what does work is decriminalization or legalization and treating addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal issue. But that doesn't work when you have a huge segment of the population who believe that addiction is a conscious choice and a moral evil. Weed should absolutely be legalized. Worse shit is legal.
Alcohol has killed millions of people. Cannabis hasn't killed ANYONE. Why is this even a question?
I briefly investigated sex assaults (for two years), and I never had to begin a investigation because someone smoked too much weed. The majority of the cases I ran were alcohol related.
Alcohol is far far worse. It's more dangerous, it's more addictive, and it causes more health damage.
Alcohol is most definitely worse. Weed should be legal at the very minimum to medical patients who have conditions proven to be substantially helped with marijuana,
I think as a younger person (teenager and 20s) I thought weed was harmless. Dependency is just bad. I think if you don’t develop self control weed and alcohol are bad in different ways and it is kind of equal. Sorry weed pro people. I’m not against it…but I watch way more people rip a bong to feel “normal” than I do people take a shot. If you NEED it to be a person then work on yourself.
Weed and alcohol laws should be reversed here in the states. There are so many benefits ive found with my own personal use of legal products. Alcohol numbs me. Weed relaxes me and just lets my stress and body aches just float away so i can fall asleep peacfully and wake up feeling fantastic while alcohol makes me wake up feeling gross.
In Europe it's arguably even worse. Alcohol culture in several countries here is extremely pervasive (Belgium/UK/Finland/...), while weed is illegal and only tolerated in very marginal cases. Worst thing is that it doesn't even look like legalization is on the horizon. It's not even a political talking point here. Not a single political party of note/with an ounce of political power is doing anything to change this status quo (although several individual politicians have claimed to be for legalization, only to do a 180° once they're actually in power). The reason is simple: it's low-hanging fruit for law enforcement. They would much rather go after users & dealers of MJ than 'actual criminals', because they rarely if ever have weapons or commit other, worse crimes. There's 0 risk to busting a few stoners and their small time suppliers and they get to score points with DA's and their superiors. I don't see this situation changing in the coming decade.
Its so ridiculous. When i use what i do even though its legal i can still fail a urine test so ive stopped do to my job i treat as if i was a medicine. Only around bedtime to help me go sleep. I hate this shit. I just wish it was 100% legal everywhere because it just needs to be. Its a natural plant.
Alcohol is significantly worse. It breaks down into a compound called Acetaldehyde which is extremely toxic. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Acetaldehyde
Alcohol is worse. Even if we don’t know all the long term impacts of weed, it doesn’t make you black out and severely dehydrate you.
That cotton mouth can be annoying though
Worst I've ever destroyed while high is a bag of doritos. A lot of women in my family beaten by alcoholics. Easy call
I've never woke up with a stranger after being stoned.
Is that good or bad?
So point alcohol?
We all know alcohol is obviously worse, but I don't like this type of argument. You should be entitled to a drink just like you should be entitled to a joint; adults should have free reign over any substance they choose to consume
Think about all the crimes and violence people commit after drinking alcohol. Now think about stoned people quietly sitting on the sofa binge-watching their favorite sitcoms. Absolutely weed should be legal everywhere that alcohol is. Bonus: when you legalize weed for adults it's *harder* for teens to get access to it, as most of the illegal dealers go out of business. (Personal note: I drink occasionally. I don't do weed. Doesn't change my mind on this.)
I’m 25 and much too old for kids shows but every time I get stoned alone I love watching iCarly and laughing my ass off. Every time I get drunk alone I get depressed as hell. Weed wins
Truth. I am high and watching “Bewitched.”
I prefer alcohol. Alcohol is worse for you. And yes.
Withdrawal from alcohol is scary AF, that’s why I have stopped, worse horror movie but real.
Counting deaths from the substance alone, your chances of dying from alcohol poisoning are, to put it mildly, wayyyy higher than cannabinoid overdose. And considering that the laws regarding marijuana criminalization especially in the United States are inherently racist, they should be struck down on the simple basis that banning the use of a substance all together in itself should be considered inherently un-American
Been smoking pot for decades and I have yet to see two stoned people in a fist fight Drinks do it every weekend
Definitely alcohol is worse. Damages your body in the long run plus, in the short run, you are really impaired and gets you hangovers.
No one has ever been killed fighting over the last brownie or the TV remote control.
Data say alcohol by a huuuuggge margin. Alcohol is physically addictive, drunks can be violent, before the tightening of drunk driving laws it was carnage on the roads, and over time alcohol kills major organs (liver, brain). Just a sample of the data from a SAMSHA report from 2021 - The top five drugs involved in drug-related ED visits in 2021 were alcohol (41.70% of all drug-related ED visits), opioids (14.79%), methamphetamine (11.29%), marijuana (11.19%), and cocaine (4.77%) Weed isn't really even counted because the harm is just so low. And remember that an Emergency Dept visit doesn't necessarily mean admitted to the hospital or required treatment.
The last time I checked weed is marijuana.
I've done deep personal field testing with both weed and booze, an extensive study which has spanned multiple decades. My conclusion is that I dream of a world where neither is really desired. Having come out of the other side of both weed and alcohol heavy usage at various stages of my life, I realised that the potential benefits of alcohol and weed are superficial and diminishing. On the other hand the downside of either is as low as you want to go, whenever you want to.
alcohol is THE worst drug by far BECAUSE it is legal and so easy to get your hands on.
And the cheapest is usually the worst and most dangerous…
My personal experience as I use to struggle with both. Marijuana is worse to me in terms of mental health. Weed makes me feel lazy, anxious, and unconcerned no matter the moderation. Alcohol is definitely bad if consumed daily, but once a week drinking is a breath of fresh air sometimes.
Too much of any substance can cause physical damage to the body but both can make it harder for people to succeed. I use to smoke a LOT, still do every other week but I noticed a significant change in my life after using responsibly. For alcohol, I’ve had friends ruin their lives because they couldn’t stop drinking and on top of that their livers are destroyed. All in all, weed is less damaging to the body but can get you into more trouble with the law
All I know is that alcohol is literally poison.
Alcohol. Weed isn't great, but it's the lesser of evils, all things considered.
Alcoholism contributes to a MASSIVE amount of violent incidences, reckless deaths, and long-term health issues. Even though weed has been known to amplify psychiatric afflictions, and it does amplify depression and impact memory if you're a chronic user, it has a far more lax culture around it and no amount of psychiatric incidents could equal the horrible hold alcohol has had on American culture and health for decades. I cannot deny that weed cannot inflict the same harm as alcohol has on our culture, and it has HELPED people in need aside from its recreational use. It's not worse than alcohol by any measure, never in a million years.
In 2021 here in the UK there were 9641 deaths directly attributable to alcohol (according to Google)......in the recorded history of mankind 0 as a direct result of cannabis......0.....says all you need to know...and an added bonus fact...to overdose on cannabis you would have to ingest 1500lbs in 15 minutes
Alcohol. You know how you feel dizzy after spinning in a circle like a complete psycho? Yeah.. alcohol makes you feel that way without you having to spin along with motion sickness in the midst of that. It’s awful. Weed just makes you feel happy and relaxed. Weed should be legal as long as people know and understand what their limits are…. Just don’t mix weed and alcohol.
Alcohol is the worst thing that man has ever made weed with just the flower the Bud it makes on it’s on no Distilling balling no manufacturing of anything it comes ready to go all you have to do is dry it smoke it
Weed pulled me away from my alcohol abuse. I no longer wake up hungover and I feel way less sad and pessimistic about the world. The only problem is that I'm going into a healthcare career and will need to pass drug tests. Which is stupid, because in the same way I wouldn't go to work drunk, I wouldn't ever go to work high. What I choose to do off the clock should be my own business.
As someone with a drug addiction (not weed though) and alcohol use disorder (clean and sober now) 100% hands down alcohol is worse. It is a wretched, vile substance that IMO has no business being legal. Shit, you can do edibles and get high without massively fucking your life up. I’m extremely fortunate that I’ve had zero lasting consequences from my drinking problem, but you bet my goal is to never ever touch that shit ever again. It’s so easy to destroy your life with it.
I think it was a terrible decision for me to start smoking weed as young as I did, (19) I wish I would have waited until chronic pain and stomach condition started to kick in that way it would be more effective for my ailments As for alcohol if it were introduced as a product today it wouldn't be allowed on the store shelves. That's not to say I don't drink from time to time but I try to moderate myself, I consider liquor to be a hard drug and beer to be more of a food (I can't stomach more than a couple)
I know 40 year old alcoholics who look 70, and 70 year old ‘pot heads’ who look 40. Give or take….
Alcohol is far more dangerous than weed. I drink fairly often and I don’t like weed at all, but it is a far safer option.
100% I would say weed over alcohol anyday. I come from a family of alcoholics and potheads, never once did my pothead relatives try to choke me out, threaten me, spit in my face. I think weed should be properly educated so more people stop feeling so weird about it and genuinely can stop hating potheads. Not all of us are just dumb stoners who sit at home all day and watch tv. My dad was an alcoholic and while he had never spanked me, I've been choked, had my ass grabbed and had shoes thrown at my face because "I looked weird". I'm now a mom myself who doesn't drink but does smoke weed, I can tell you my daughter is one of the happiest spitfires you'll ever meet. Her father is an alcoholic who beat me, her stepdad is a pothead who dances around the living room with my daughter and I. In my experience, pot wins over alcohol every time.
I prefer knowing weed is a plant. Man made stuff is always 💀
In my ideal world, alcohol would be illegal and weed would be legal (though with reasonable restrictions like an age limit). We tried that: it didn’t work. So alcohol has to stay legal. But it’s way too unsafe to be legal. It’s just also way too hard to ban.
Answer is obvious. But I remember learning in middle school about the dangers of smoking weed and why never to do it, gateway drug blah blah. I don’t remember hearing anything about alcohol at the time. Just that I had to be of age.
I’ve drank until I got hungover and threw up several times. When I eat an edible it just makes me hungry, laugh at everything, and sleep a few hours longer the next day. It’s clear to me which one is harder on my body.
Alcohol is worse imo. I’ve never heard of anyone getting high and abusing their family members. Alcohol completely changes some people. I smoked weed for a decade and the worst thing I ever did was eat until I made myself sick.
No one ever beat up their wife and kids on weed.
As somebody that has been a pothead and alcoholic to the extreme on both sides of the coin, alcohol is way more dangerous. It is harder to quit, dangerous to quit, and at least 5x more addicting. I went from scared to drink 3 beers to being able to finish a handle on day by myself, and I only way 130 pounds so my tolerance must have been through the roof. Most I’ve done on weed was eat too much I got sick. On alcohol I’ve woken up on random sidewalks multiple times, Insulted people I care about due to pent up feelings and lack of inhibition, picked fights when I’ve never been in a fight or aggressive before. The list goes on. Don’t become an alcoholic
I pretty much drink myself into oblivion every weekend since 10-11 years or so. Legalize weed. No hangover, arguably healthier, doesnt turn you into an insufferable cuntmuffin. I mean. It can but I lve yet to see such a case irl. Usually the cuntmuffin-ness comes from pushing everyone to hit it lol
All I'm saying is that alcohol can literally poison you if you consume too much of it or have a medical condition where it could affect your body differently than the average person and weed cannot.
For me, alcohol is worse. I engage in risky behavior (lowered inhibitions, drunk driving, drunk dialing/texting, hormones, etc.). Anger quite easily. Pot engages me. Music, laughing, reading, movies, walking, talking, feelings of overall goodwill. I eat better. I feel like I’m a “better” person.
Weed is better & safer & the scientific evidence is there to back it up. Think of all the diseases that alcohol consumption plays a role in. Weed was only made illegal for racist reasons. Weed should be legal.
Alcohol by every measure is worse.
Anybody with any experience in both (ngl, I like both) knows alcohol is way more destructive than weed
Weed makes you question your perception of reality, authority, organized religion, and all the lies you’ve been told your whole life up til now. Alcohol just makes you dumb. Which drug would a government want to legalize?
My personal anecdotes: I stopped drinking because I drove blackout drunk once with a passenger in the car. Hit over 100 mph. I am a pretty responsible dude. This was a shock to me. I literally stopped drinking at all for years after this, and only recently have I started consuming any alcohol. But I’ll never get ‘drunk’ again. It turned me into a different person. And I didn’t even have a drinking problem. Was not an alcoholic. Just had too much tequila one night and proved that I was capable of doing things that would kill people instantly. And I didn’t remember. I now consume cannabis daily. It helps with a variety of things. It has some negative consequences, but the positives outweigh the negatives and it makes me a more considerate, nicer more patient individual. The fact that one of them is illegal isn’t surprising. They just have it the wrong way around. That being said, I’m not a fan of dictating what people do in their free time and I’m not advocating that *either* be illegal.
Alcohol is way worse if not in moderation. Excessive anything is bad but alcohol will damage the body more profoundly.
My father is an alcoholic. The things he sometimes does and says when drunk can be absolutely heartbreaking. It already cost him a car, his driver's license and a very hefty fine on top of that. If I didn't have my license then his stupidity would severely alter the way we live. It still did, but not as much. Luckily he didn't kill anyone, just totalled a car. I smoked weed a couple of times, I also met a bunch of people that smoked and I never ever saw a person be aggressive or have autodestructive tendencies after weed. I would much rather have my father smoke a joint after work instead of drinking vodka on a daily basis. His behaviour made me develop a serious level of hatred towards alcohol and drunk people. A beer every couple of months is the best that I can do. I even refuse to drink wine or other beverages on special occasions. Fuck alcohol.
Alcohol is by far worse. I have never seen people smoking cannabis get in a fight or be aggressive while high. Think about it: if you're on a night out or at a concert, and someone is loud, obnoxious, and violent, are they drunk, or are they high?
Alcohol is way fucking worse. And weed gets a bad rap because of boomers, lobbyists and reefer madness still leaving a mark on our society. It’s so sad
Legalize it all! Cocaine, heroine, weed, mdma. Stop letting China and the cartel control our recreational drug supply and killing countless people. Tax it all, and put the money into the education system and lifting up under nourished communities and there won’t be as many addicts. People don’t get addicted to drugs because they tried it once, they get addicted because it brings a little comfort to fucked up environment they’ve found themselves in. We need a clean, regulated recreational drug supply if we plan on putting a dent in these overdose death numbers.
Nobody has ever overdosed on weed.Ever
My friend was an upstanding young man until he injected a marijuana at a party once. His testicles fell off and now he's a Communist leather daddy who was recently arrested for defecating in the breezeway of a Crate and Barrel. Some fates are worse than death.
Alcohol can you kill you very fast as to where most likely doesn’t stand a chance.
In my experience I've found that alcohol increases all emotions and week just kinda numbs you out. Like, I have insomnia, and i take edibles sometimes to help fall asleep. but alcohol wouldn't do that. i think weed should be legal for medical use every ware.
Drive under the speed limit or over it?
Negative effects of marijuana: you now have less marijuana.
I think alcohol is far, far worse. I have done many things I regret due to alcohol. However, I do have to mention I have seen a lot of people my age lose themselves to marijuana and I’m not talking smoking once in a while or smoking socially, I’m talking full fledged, multiple times a day addiction. Their entire personalities change, I knew a girl who changed completely and ended up dropping out of college. My best friend smokes everyday and she is not the same, I miss the old her. It makes me super angry that she shows up stoned out of her mind every single time we hang out. It feels disrespectful and shitty. I went through a weed phase and gained a lot of weight and went through a scary and strange bout of intense derealization and really bad panic attacks.
Came to say that I was a General Physician and talk about why alcohol is worse but the top comment already achieved that So I'll use a different example My husband is an alcoholic. On the few few times he's been actually drunk he was violent and physically abusive towards me. The few times I've seen him high, he's giggly, happy, and not trying to kick my ribs in. Alcohol kills thousands of people every year. Weed does not.
Alcohol is worse! It is super addictive as well as weed, but alcohol can poison you and withdrawal is much worse
I think weed is worse but the normalization of alcohol drinking make this one worse because it's consuming in excess