Marijuana vs. Alcohol

By , 16 July, 2010, 1 Comment

Marijuana vs. Alcohol: 25 Enlightening Studies and Infographics

One of the controversies in public health right now is that surrounding the use of marijuana. While it is true that marijuana is a mind altering substance, it is also true that there are legal substances that also affect the mind. One of those that comes to mind quite easily is alcohol. Alcohol affects judgment, and contributes to deaths every year, but it is perfectly legal (as long as you are over 21), and not considered a public health risk. Before you decide that marijuana should remain illegal, but that alcohol is just fine, consider these 25 enlightening and interesting studies and infographics on alcohol and marijuana.

Alcohol

Studies and infographics look at alcohol, discussing the dangers and the possible benefits of alcohol consumption. You are likely to find, though, that most benefits are derived when you use alcohol in moderation, rather than engaging in binge behaviors.

Marijuana

Effects of marijuana on the brain and body. Also, consider the studies showing some of the benefits of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Studies and infographics that provide insight into the costs, benefits and risks associated with one of the most popular drugs known to humans.

Alcohol vs. Marijuana

Take a look at a comparison of alcohol and marijuana. Discover what the professionals have to say when these two popular substances go head to head.

  • Deadliest Drugs: This infographic looks at drugs, and press reports, in Britain. Using data from 2008, this infographic compares media coverage of drug deaths with the deaths themselves. As you can see, alcohol represented the second-highest amount of deaths, but was rarely reported on. By contrast, marijuana is third from the bottom, but there is greater furor over deaths related to cannabis. So, no matter what you have heard, alcohol causes more deaths than marijuana.
  • Drugs and Accident Risk in Fatally-Injured Drivers: This risk analysis from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Pathology at Monash University in South Melbourne, Australia, offers a look at the driving risks presented by different drugs. It suggests that drivers on alcohol are a greater risk than those using marijuana.
  • Comparative Effects of Alcohol and Marijuana on Mood, Memory, and Performance: This study, conducted by Johns Hopkins University, compared the effects of alcohol and marijuana. High doses of each has similar effects on word recall, but alcohol impaired performance on number recognition while marijuana did not. At the very least, this study suggests that marijuana is no worse than alcohol.
  • Comparing Dangers of Popular Drugs: This infographic offers a look at different dangers associated with drugs. It shows that alcohol ranks much higher than marijuana in terms of dependence, withdrawal, tolerance, reinforcement and intoxication. Alcohol even ranks higher than heroin on withdrawal.
  • Marijuana vs. Alcohol and Tobacco: This is a great collection of studies related to alcohol and tobacco use. This list kind of makes the argument that marijuana should remain illegal because of its health and safety issues somewhat ridiculous.
  • Urban Minority Youth: Alcohol and Marijuana Use and Exposure to Unprotected Intercourse: Both alcohol and marijuana can affect whether or not minority teenagers use condoms during intercourse.
  • Developing Brains: Alcohol Worse Than Marijuana: This looks at two different studies that show that teen brain development is more adversely affected by alcohol than by marijuana.

    • Full article and all related links you may find here: http://mphdegree.org/2010/marijuana-vs-alcohol-25-enlightening-studies-and-i

    Share
    Tags: , , , Categories: Smoking weed
    1 Response {+}
    • billy
      January 2, 2012 at 22:57

      I really enjoyed this article! more people need to see this statitics and do something about it. Its ridiculous how easy it is for childrens and teens to get ahold of alcohol compared to drugs. and i have seen wayyyyy more kids on alcohol make fools of themselves by making stupid decisions more than after smoking marijuana. Plus it is way easier to get addicted to alcohol. These facts need to be taught in schools!

    Leave a Reply