cannatell

An opinion piece: all views contained herein are predominantly based on personal experience and observation. They are meant to welcome open dialogue and debate, not hatred and fighting. Please keep any and all comments respectful, even when tempers rise.

Marijuana or Alcohol? Obviously, I Prefer Weed. Here’s Why.

I’ll start by admitting my bias: I’ve dealt with many family members and friends that became alcoholics, I’ve worked through co-dependency related to how close I was (living with, raised by) some of those people, and I’ve struggled trying to help them cope with the physical repercussions. Alcohol ruined many lives around me.

Marijuana on the other hand, has not. I have not seen it cause someone who is otherwise fine to spiral. I have not seen it rob them of their ability to freely make choices about their lives. In fact, quite the opposite – I’ve seen it help, even those with previous addiction issues, to cope with a myriad of ailments through the various ways marijuana is used. Chief among them: helping family members and friends who have battled cancer to cope with the effects of that fight.

So it should be pretty apparent: in my opinion, Marijuana beats Alcohol, every time. I’m sure there are different experiences, so please feel free to share them below!

The Effects

There’s more than what I just mentioned that leads me to prefer Marijuana – in fact, I have many different reasons that I’ll share with you here. The first that comes to mind: the effects.

Alcohol, when I drink it, makes me feel full, bloated, and interferes with my ability to eat (which is already an issue I deal with – keep reading to hear more). I typically get a slightly upset stomach long before I start feeling the effects that it seems everyone else does. Invariably, I wind up with a headache, whether it’s while I’m drinking or the next morning when I wake up. Essentially: it’s not really fun.

It seems like so many others enjoy it, and feel euphoric from it, but instead I just wind up feeling slightly sick and anxious. Not good. Typically, I wind up keeping to myself and then exiting swiftly when the opportunity arises if I’m out with friends. People get wild, I don’t, and it makes for an uncomfortable situation. Cue: drunk person breath while they blab on incoherently about a random topic.

Marijuana, by contrast, makes me feel better. I get a slight mood and motivation boost. Depending on the strain, I get some energy or I get sleepy or I get chill, and always the lingering muscle and joint pain that I have from an old injury dulls. My mind slows down a bit, and my anxiety is calmed temporarily. My appetite goes up, and I readily eat – healthy food (most of the time)! There are certain strains of marijuana that even specifically help with my appetite, which is something I struggle with. Something that both helps me quiet my racing mind, helps me eat even when I’m stressed, and helps me to lift my mood when I’m feeling low? Yes, please!

When everyone smokes together, we end up having conversations – goofy, serious, thoughtful – you name it! Even if myself or someone else hasn’t smoked, no one get crazy or makes anyone who is sober uncomfortable. At most, everyone gets goofy or giggly. I have never seen someone lash out or get “angry high” like I’ve seen people get “angry drunk.”

Marijuana use is relatively peaceful, and in my experience, when not solely used as a way to get more intoxicated on a night out, marijuana is typically used in an environment that is leagues better than dingy bars and sports games where men get creepy and handsy after a few.

I also don’t feel the same level of impairment to my judgment, decision-making, and ability to comprehend. If I get too high I may feel my perception get slightly distorted (think: losing track of time or what was being talked about), but I don’t lose my sense of right/wrong and I don’t lose inhibitions the way I do when I drink.

Dependency (or lack thereof)

I’ll start this section by saying that no, I don’t claim that you can’t form a dependency on marijuana – however, it isn’t necessarily a physical dependency in the same sense that alcohol, or cocaine, or heroin forms a physical dependency. What I mean is that I’ve never seen someone have convulsions or tremors due to not smoking when they have been smoking every day; I’ve never seen someone unable to stop by just choosing to stop; I’ve never seen someone lose sight of all other aspects of their lives solely in the pursuit of marijuana.

Personally, I have days where I’m so busy I don’t even realize I haven’t consumed marijuana in a few days. I have days where I decide not to smoke because it wouldn’t go well with my plans for the day. I don’t smoke if I have to drive. I don’t smoke before or during work, ever. And not once have I craved marijuana, blown off my life for marijuana, or felt distracted by a desire to consume marijuana while engaging in other activities.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is the opposite. No, I’ve never risen to level of being an alcoholic, but we’ve all been on a trip, or off for a long weekend, where drinking is the main event (for some) every day. After that ends, how do you feel the next day? I usually feel weak, shaky, tired, sick – and often, like I want a drink. Alcohol seems to very quickly make your body crave it. When people I know who drink every day decide to stop, they have serious side effects, physically and mentally, that need to be medically monitored. They struggle to stop, and typically need help and time.

Clearly, marijuana wins again.

Side Effects (or lack thereof)

Finally, I’ll specifically mention something that has been noted above – hangovers don’t happen with marijuana. I’ve never thrown up from marijuana, I’ve never gotten dizzy, and I’ve never woken up the next day feeling like I got hit by a train. Quite the opposite – I wake up feeling well rested and calm. Drinking causes major anxiety and brain fog the next day, marijuana doesn’t.

Also of note, marijuana does not trash your health the way alcohol does. Alcohol is loaded with sugar, together with many other compounds, that completely ruin your metabolism, weight, heart health, brain health, and circulation. I won’t say marijuana is completely healthy, but if you don’t smoke it, there aren’t many negative effects – in fact, there are studies that show potential positive effects of marijuana.

Conclusion

In my opinion, marijuana is better than alcohol in many ways. Functionally, mentally, physically – it does not seem to have the negative impact that drinking has on everyone. So for me, it’s cannabis over drinking, marijuana over alcohol, every day.

I’d love to hear your thoughts below!