All of this helps prove that marijuana isn’t totally harmless — and some of its risks are likely unknown. And it can feel different to be addicted to a legal substance than to be addicted to an illicit one. A person experiencing a alcohol vs drugs problem with alcohol might reach for a golden bottle of tequila, splash some in a heavy glass and wake up hours later wondering where the night went.

Prescriptions, Opioids, and Fake Pills

And trust me, drug dealers would kill (probably literally) for the opportunity to advertise their product so publicly.

• There probably isn’t a perfect way to evaluate and present all drug harms.
• Substance use disorder is a mental health disorder in which a person continually uses drugs or alcohol even though it is causing physical, psychological, and/or personal harm.
• The changes can endure long after a person stops consuming alcohol, and can contribute to relapse in drinking.
• Alcoholism is a specific term referring to addiction to alcohol, while drug addiction indicates a generalized condition wherein one can be addicted to any substance.

Other Drugs, Prevention, and Addiction

• John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.
• Learn more about the financial impact of alcohol misuse in the United States.
• The question policy experts typically ask isn’t which drug is more dangerous, but how marijuana and alcohol should be treated through policy as individual drugs with their own set of unique, complicated risks.

Drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter in the body. Although these drugs mimic the brain’s own chemicals, they don’t activate neurons in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being sent through the network. One of the brain areas still maturing during adolescence is the prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain that allows people to assess situations, make sound decisions, and keep emotions and desires under control. The fact that this critical part of a teen’s brain is still a work in progress puts them at increased risk for trying drugs or continuing to take them. Introducing drugs during this period of development may cause brain changes that have profound and long-lasting consequences.

Drugs Evolve Over Time

Occasional drug use, such as misusing an opioid to get high, can have similarly disastrous effects, including impaired driving and overdose. As individuals continue to drink alcohol over time, progressive changes may occur in the structure and function of their brains. These changes can compromise brain function and drive the transition from controlled, occasional use to chronic misuse, which can be difficult to control.

But it is their similarities, and not their differences, that the addicted person feels most closely, whether it is pain pills or vodka that soothes their inner turmoil. Based on the number and severity of symptoms the person has, their healthcare provider will determine whether their substance use is a cause for concern and whether they have mild, moderate, or severe substance use disorder. Most drugs affect the brain’s “reward circuit,” causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine.

Stigmas Associated with Drug and Alcohol Addiction

• But with continued use, a person’s ability to exert self-control can become seriously impaired.
• Mutual-support groups provide peer support for stopping or reducing drinking.
• Many people don’t understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs.

Learn about other ways to lower rates of excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related injury and overdose. Explore statistics on alcohol-related deaths and emergency visits in the United States. Call to speak to one of our knowledgeable admissions navigators, who can answer your questions, explain your options, and help you begin your recovery today. It’s important to teach children, adolescents, and adults about the prevalence and dangers of substance use and help them develop resilience skills to avoid using substances. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.

Also, the person will often need to take larger amounts of the drug to produce the familiar high—an effect known as tolerance. Substance use disorder is preventable if we build systems of care that help us intervene at earlier stages of use. Schools and communities need to work collaboratively together to actively find and correct the conditions that lead to substance use disorder, in order to prevent it or mitigate its effects. Read ahead to learn more about the differences between substance use and substance abuse (the remainder of the article will use the term “substance use disorder” rather than “substance abuse”). A lot of research has also linked adolescent marijuana use with a range of negative consequences, including cognitive deficiencies and worse educational outcomes. While it’s not clear whether marijuana’s role with these outcomes is cause-and-effect, experts generally agree that people younger than their mid-20s should avoid pot.

Mixing Alcohol with Hallucinogens and Dissociative Substances

Behavioral therapies can help people develop skills to avoid and overcome triggers, such as stress, that might lead to drinking. Medications also can help deter https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-and-sleep-does-alcohol-help-you-sleep/ drinking during times when individuals may be at greater risk of a return to drinking (e.g., divorce, death of a family member). Many people don’t understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to.

Physical Symptoms and Health Problems

Health risks are just one way to measure whether marijuana is safer than alcohol. While pot doesn’t seem to cause organ failure or fatal overdoses, alcohol kills more than 29,000 people each year due to liver disease and other forms of poisoning. The drug policy experts I talked to about Nutt’s study generally agreed that his style of analysis and ranking misses some of the nuance behind the harm of certain drugs. Even if two drugs score similarly in Nutt’s analysis, the underlying variables behind the scores can be completely different.