Scientists: Pot Drinks May Be ‘Harm Reduction’ for Alcohol

Small study finds cannabis drinks are linked to reduced weekly alcohol intake

Swapping your IPA for a THC seltzer might do more than change your buzz. A small new study suggests cannabis-infused drinks could help some people cut back on alcohol. Public health researchers from the University at Buffalo surveyed 438 adults who say they’d used cannabis in the past year; about one-third reported drinking cannabis beverages, per a release. Those drinkers were more likely to say they used cannabis as a stand-in for alcohol than people who used other cannabis products (about 59% versus 47%). On average, they reported cutting their weekly alcohol intake by more than half after adding cannabis drinks—from about seven alcoholic beverages a week to just over three—and said they binged booze less often.

Lead author Jessica Kruger calls the work the first to look specifically at cannabis beverages as an alcohol “harm reduction” tool—an approach that aims to lower health risks among people who continue to use legal substances rather than quit entirely. Alcohol is tied to at least seven cancers and almost 200 health conditions, the researchers note; cannabis, meanwhile, generally carries lower health risks than heavy drinking, though it’s not risk-free. Kruger stresses that cannabis beverages are still new, and that it’ll take time before this kind of substitution is considered mainstream.

Read the full article at Newser