A brain expert has delved into the ongoing debate about whether alcohol or cannabis is more detrimental to health.
As of 2023, a significant 17 percent of Americans have admitted to trying cannabis, a statistic that aligns with the fact that 24 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes.
In contrast, at least 60 percent of the population consume alcohol, despite its well-documented negative health effects.
The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, labeling it as a “toxic, psychoactive and dependence-producing substance.”
Alcohol consumption is linked to at least seven types of cancer, including prevalent ones like bowel cancer and breast cancer in women.
On the other hand, the Cleveland Clinic highlights that cannabis, sourced from the Cannabis sativa plant, has both short-term and long-term effects, although the full extent of its harm is still under scientific scrutiny.
In the immediate aftermath of use, cannabis can leave individuals feeling nauseous, dizzy, disoriented, sleepy, or extremely hungry.
However, medical marijuana is utilized to alleviate certain symptoms, such as chronic pain, appetite stimulation, and the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms.
With all this information, one might assume that alcohol is the more harmful of the two substances.
Dr. Daniel Amen has taken a closer look at this perennial question, offering results that might surprise some.
In his YouTube video, he clarifies, “Now those of you who follow me know neither one are good for you. And quite frankly, there are more deaths every year from alcohol than there are marijuana.”
He continues, “There’s more domestic violence, there’s more drunk driving accidents, there’s more bad decisions, people ending up in jail.”
However, Dr. Amen shared findings from a brain imaging study conducted at the Amen Clinic which examined 62,454 spec scans to understand ‘how the brain ages’ and what accelerates aging.
Both marijuana and alcohol were found to speed up aging, with the study indicating that marijuana was surprisingly more detrimental in this regard.
This insight comes at a time when health experts have expressed concern over the rising number of hospital visits related to excessive cannabis use.
Emergency rooms have been dealing with cases of abdominal pain and severe or prolonged vomiting, with a common factor being chronic cannabis use.
This condition is termed cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), which causes symptoms like nausea.
According to UW Medicine, this gut condition typically arises within 24 hours of the last cannabis use and can persist for days, with chronic users experiencing it three to four times a year.