The legalization of marijuana in Colorado for recreational use has some people totally freaked out. One implicit assumption seems to be that if it was illegal for so long, it must be really bad for you. Certainly it must be worse than alcohol, which has been legal nationwide since 1933. But is that true? The editorial board of the New York Times doesn't think so,
claiming, "Of the two substances, alcohol is far more hazardous." So
let's go to the tale of the (medical) tape and see each substance's
effect on our health.
1. Brain
Short-term marijuana use has no serious impact on the brain. Long-term use, on the other hand, has been linked to impaired thinking, memory problems, and psychological issues including anxiety.
The effects of alcohol consumption on the brain are almost too many to mention. For starters, alcohol inhibits thought processes, which makes it difficult to think clearly. It also acts on the medulla, which induces sleepiness.
Here's where marijuana use gets ugly. According to WebMD,
"Long-term use of marijuana can make lung problems worse. Regular,
long-term marijuana use has been associated with several cases of an
unusual type of emphysema, a lung disease." Presumably, these problems
are associated with smoking marijuana rather than eating it.
Perhaps surprisingly, alcohol is also quite dangerous to the lungs. It can cause alcoholic lung disease. However, it's worth noting that according to one study, "The association between alcohol abuse and acute lung injury remains largely unrecognized, even by lung researchers."
3. Liver
Marijuana has no known effect on the liver. Alcohol, on the other hand, can single-handedly destroy your liver. Liver-related risks of alcohol consumption
include fatty liver disease, which usually shows no symptoms; alcoholic
hepatitis, which affects up to 35% of heavy drinkers; and alcoholic
cirrhosis, the effects of which cannot be reversed.
