Alcohol or Marijuana: Which is Worse for Your Brain?
This blog has been updated since its original publication date.
One of the most common things people want to know is whether alcohol or marijuana is worse for your brain and overall health. The brain-imaging work at Amen Clinics and recent research suggest that neither one is good for you.
Alcohol is not a health food, and marijuana is not an innocuous substance—it is a drug. But is one of them more damaging than the other?
At first glance, it might seem that alcohol does the most damage to our brain health and general well-being because it is more widely used. Over 84% of American adults say they’ve consumed alcohol at some point in their lives. And nearly 64% of Americans aged 12 and over say they’ve had a drink in the past year, as reported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Compare that to just 19% of Americans, including young people, who said they used marijuana in 2019, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Although not as widespread, the harmful effects of marijuana on the brain, including brain development, may be greater.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the worst consequences of drinking and marijuana.
CONSEQUENCES OF DRINKING ALCOHOL
There are many consequences of consuming alcoholic beverages, whether it’s beer, wine, champagne, cocktails, hard seltzer, or other types of alcohol. Here are some of the biggest repercussions.
Death: According to the NIAAA, over 178,000 deaths annually can be blamed on excessive alcohol use. This puts alcohol at #4 on the list of leading preventable causes of death in the U.S., just after tobacco, poor diet/physical inactivity, and illegal drugs.
Chronic health conditions: Some of the leading causes of alcohol-related deaths are liver disease, heart disease (including heart attack), stroke, cancer, and high blood pressure.
Traffic fatalities: Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) show that in the U.S., approximately 30% of all traffic accident deaths involve drunk driving. An estimated 32 Americans lose their lives each day in crashes where someone is driving drunk.
Alcohol use disorder: For some people, drinking leads to addiction, as 29.5 million people from the young age of 12 and up have an alcohol use disorder, according to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSUDH). Addiction can impair a family environment and destroy relationships.
Binge drinking: Over 21% of American adults engaged in binge drinking in the past month, according to the NIAAA. Binge drinking is defined as consuming 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women within a span of about 2 hours.
Binge drinking leads to a litany of serious consequences, such as injuries, violence, risky sexual behavior, unwanted pregnancy, and more.
Reduced brain volume: Drinking alcohol, even just 1-7 drinks per week, is associated with brain shrinkage, according to a study in JAMA Neurology. A study published in the BMJ shows that having just 1-2 glasses of wine per day is associated with atrophy in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in mood, memory, and learning.
Heightened risk of dementia: Recent research suggests that people who are moderate to heavy drinkers are at a 57% increased risk of developing dementia. Brain SPECT scans of heavy drinkers evaluated at Amen Clinics show low blood flow in the brain, which is the #1 brain-imaging predictor that a person will develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Poor decision-making: Even in people who are light drinkers, consuming alcohol impacts brain function and can lead to bad decisions. When people drink, it lowers blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in impulse control, judgment, the ability to solve problems, and forethought.
Normally, the brain builds connections when focused on these functions, but alcohol impairs this process and makes people more likely to say or do things that get you in trouble—relationship trouble, financial trouble, or legal trouble.
Depression and mental health issues: Some people use alcohol as a way to self-medicate symptoms from mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Although drinking may temporarily provide relief from of symptoms, it ultimately exacerbates depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions.
ADVERSE BRAIN HEALTH EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA USE
How does marijuana affect the brain and body? Marijuana use is associated with a wide range of consequences. Some of the well-known physical health effects of marijuana include slowed motor skills as well as emphysema from exposure to marijuana smoke and other chemicals in cannabis.
How much marijuana a person uses can make a difference. Substance abuse, also known as substance use disorder, increases the risk of negative consequences and the severity of problems.
If you’ve been wondering, “Is weed bad for the brain?” take a look at the following research findings:
Traffic fatalities: A notable research study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that traffic fatalities increased by 4% and accidents with injuries jumped by close to 6% in states that had legalized recreational marijuana.
Cannabis affects reaction time, judgment, and other critical brain functions, and high doses of cannabis products cause greater impairment.
Increased risk of depression and suicidality: Most people associate recreational use of marijuana with getting high and happy (or even to treat pain). However, a 2019 review in JAMA Psychiatry concluded that early exposure, including adolescent marijuana use, is associated with a higher risk of brain problems, such as depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts.
Young adults and older folks who use cannabis regularly are also vulnerable to these mental health problems because of the effects of marijuana on the brain—even in those who might not have cannabis use disorder.
Fuels anxiety: According to a study in Neurology, more research suggests that some people who smoke marijuana (or ingest it) with higher levels of THC, the compound in the cannabis plant that causes the psychoactive effects in the brain, increased anxiousness is a common problem.
Makes you psychotic: Research in The Lancet Psychiatry about marijuana exposure shows that high-potency cannabis use may be responsible for 10% of new cases of psychosis.
Impairs memory: Using marijuana temporarily disrupts brain activity, including memory formation and puts you at risk for cognitive dysfunction later in life, according to research in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers have found that THC (one of the most active ingredients) attaches to receptors in brain areas associated with memory, including the brain structure called the hippocampus.
Of course, heavy marijuana use and other factors can make that risk even higher. And, more research that was published in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that IQ points decreased in long-term heavy cannabis users compared to non-users.
Decreases brain health: In an Amen Clinics brain imaging study on the drivers of brain aging that was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, cannabis abuse, especially cannabis use disorder—one of the most common types of drug abuse—was second only to schizophrenia in accelerating brain aging.
Schizophrenia was associated with 4 years of premature aging while cannabis substance abuse represented 2.8 years of accelerated aging. Clearly, stopping marijuana use can reduce this risk.
Alcohol abuse represented 0.6 years of accelerated aging and came in fifth on the list after bipolar disorder (1.6 years of accelerated aging) and ADD/ADHD (1.4 years of accelerated aging).
THE ALCOHOL VS. MARIJUANA CONCLUSION
So which substance is worse? Alcohol has more far-reaching consequences because it is consumed by so many more people. However, marijuana users—including medical marijuana users—are at higher risk when it comes to the direct impact of cannabis on brain development and brain aging.
For obvious reasons, heavy marijuana use can lead to even worse brain health consequences. The bottom line in terms of brain health and cognitive impairment along with overall well-being, is to eliminate or reduce the use of both these substances.
Addictions, including cannabis use disorder and alcohol use disorders, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
Reviewed by Amen Clinics Inc. Clinicians
Founded in 1989 by double-board certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist Daniel G. Amen, MD, Amen Clinics Inc. (ACI) is known as the best brain and mental health company in the world. Our clinical staff includes over 50 healthcare specialists, including adult and child psychiatrists, integrative (functional) medicine physicians, naturopaths, addiction specialists, forensic psychiatrists, geriatric psychiatrists, nutritionists, licensed therapists, and more.
Our clinicians have all been hand-selected and personally trained by Dr. Amen, whose mission is to end mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health. Over the last 30-plus years, ACI has built the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—over 250,000 SPECT scans on patients from 155 countries—related to how people think, feel, and behave.
Dr. Amen is also the founder of BrainMD, a fast growing, science-based nutraceutical company, and Amen University, which has trained thousands of medical and mental health professionals on the methods he has developed.
In addition, he has produced 16 national public television shows about the brain and his online videos on brain and mental health have been viewed over 300 million times. Dr. Amen is a 12-time New York Times bestselling author, including Change Your Brain, Change Your Life; The End of Mental Illness; Healing ADD; and many more. Hist latest book, Raising Mentally Strong Kids, was published March 2024.
REFERENCES
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol Facts and Statistics. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
Centers for Disease Control. Cannabis Facts and Stats, Feb. 22, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/cannabis/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol-Related Emergencies and Deaths in the United States (updated 2024). https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-related-emergencies-and-deaths-united-states
NHTSA. Drunk Driving. https://nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics (updated 2024). 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-use-disorder-aud-united-states-age-groups-and-demographic-characteristics
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Prevalence of Past-Month Binge Drinking. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-use-united-states-age-groups-and-demographic-characteristics
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https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21060664