A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that cannabis use may reduce alcohol cravings and intake among heavy drinkers.
Researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Colorado conducted a controlled laboratory study with 62 adult participants who regularly use both alcohol and marijuana. The goal was to explore how cannabis use affects alcohol consumption, particularly in the context of legal access to marijuana.
Participants completed two sessions: in one, they consumed an initial alcoholic drink and could choose to have up to four more; in the other, they first used cannabis before being given the same opportunity to drink. The study found that participants who consumed cannabis before drinking self-administered fewer drinks and reported reduced cravings for alcohol compared to sessions without cannabis.
Notably, 23 individuals showed a marked decline in both drinking and craving when cannabis was used beforehand. In contrast, those who consumed the same or more alcohol after cannabis reported little change in craving levels. Importantly, differences in outcomes were not linked to blood THC concentrations, suggesting the effect was not simply dose-related.
The findings support the idea that cannabis could act as a substitute for alcohol in some heavy drinkers, with craving reduction possibly serving as the key mechanism. However, researchers emphasized that not everyone experienced these effects, underscoring the variability in individual responses to co-use.
