People who used cannabis before drinking alcohol subsequently consumed less alcohol and had fewer alcohol cravings, according to the findings of recently published research.
The study was completed by a team of researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Colorado, and funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The research provides new evidence for the substitution effect, whereby substance users report replacing some or all of their alcohol use with cannabis, according to a report from online cannabis news outlet Marijuana Moment.
The results of the research were revealed in a preprint of the study published last month on the open-access website PsyArXiv. In it, the researchers reported that their findings showed that cannabis use had a significant impact on alcohol consumption.
“We found that across the entire sample, self-administering cannabis before alcohol significantly reduced alcohol consumption compared to when alcohol was offered without cannabis,” the researchers wrote.
“Furthermore,” they continued, “we found that cannabis and alcohol co-administration was associated with significant acute reduction in alcohol craving compared to alcohol administration alone.”
Researchers Observed the Habits of Heavy Drinkers
To complete the study, the researchers observed the behavior of 62 adult participants who used both alcohol and cannabis and engaged in heavy drinking for at least three months. Each subject completed two separate sessions during which they could drink up to five alcoholic drinks. Participants were offered an initial priming drink, followed by up to four additional drinks that the researchers offered in 15-minute intervals.
Before one of the drinking sessions, the researchers directed the participants to consume cannabis in a manner they chose. Participants were free to choose their dose, which was weighed and recorded by researchers.
The findings showed that when they used only alcohol, participants drank an average of two self-administered drinks. When participants used cannabis before alcohol, they consumed an average of 1.5 self-administered beverages, a reduction of about 25%.
Although not every participant in the study reduced their consumption of alcohol after using cannabis, those who did “reported reductions in alcohol craving at several timepoints after consuming cannabis and alcohol compared to alcohol alone,” the authors of the study wrote.
Among those who drank the same amount of alcohol or more after consuming cannabis, alcohol cravings remained level or increased, the authors noted.
Study Cites Substitution Effect
The study concludes that “for some individuals who drink heavily, cannabis may serve as a substitute for alcohol, and craving reduction may be the mechanism through which this occurs.”
While the findings were significant, the researchers noted that the effects of cannabis on alcohol use and cravings among heavy drinkers were not consistent for all participants.
“In sum, this study demonstrates that differential effects of cannabis on alcohol craving may underlie the propensity to engage in substitution behavior, and that these effects are not dependent on plasma THC concentrations,” they wrote. “However, further research is needed to clarify other variables that may impact this relationship.”
While the results from what the researchers characterized as a “novel human laboratory study” indicate “initial support for the idea that legal-market cannabis can serve as a substitute for alcohol among some heavy-drinking individuals,” they noted that factors such as demographic differences, cannabis use motives, social context, and subjective drug effects should be studied further.
The study’s findings are consistent with other research that indicates that Americans are increasingly using cannabis and hemp products as a substitute for alcohol. Earlier this year, a NuggMD poll showed that more than half of cannabis consumers said they drank less alcohol after consuming cannabis.
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