Mixing Alcohol with Marijuana
Is mixing alcohol with marijuana really that dangerous? Research has shown that mixing any drugs is dangerous. When a person is feeling high, and they reach out for another drug, they risk multiplying the regular effects of both drugs. So, when they smoke marijuana and drink alcohol at the same time, the result is either a high level of intoxication, risky behavior and/or intensified stimulant or depressant effects.
Marijuana is a drug that comes from the cannabis sativa plant. The use of marijuana affects the sections in the brain responsible for thinking, pleasure, memory, concentration, sensory and time perception, coordinated movement, etc. A combination of all of these brain centers affected at the same time results in the feeling of getting high and other effects.
On the other hand, alcohol is also considered to be a drug because of its chemical structure and a lack of nutrition values. A combination of both marijuana and alcohol effects taking place at the same time is what has been labeled as polydrug use. And while an individual may have a high tolerance for marijuana, alcohol can produce unexpected results when they mix the two.
Often, drug users think that it is alright to have a couple of drinks and then smoke marijuana. However, what often happens is that the drug user gradually becomes unaware of the amount of drugs and alcohol taken, which can result with intoxication.
Alcohol and marijuana enter the body through different paths and may act differently, but their effects can overlap. Mixing alcohol with marijuana can result in feeling kind of numb, dizzy, and/or losing track of time and space. When alcohol and marijuana are combined, users can experience high rate of errors and accidents due to real time functioning and rational thinking impairment on tasks. The most common symptoms of mixing alcohol and marijuana impact the central nervous system and include: changes in emotional behavior, compromised judgment, inability to concentrate, decreased attention, decreased perception and memory, impaired motor coordination, impaired thinking and problem solving, and memory loss.