Alcohol vs. Marijuana

Alcohol and marijuana are both alike in many ways. In the next few paragraphs explain why I believe they are. At the end of this reading you should find the comparisons very intriguing. Alcohol is more harmful than marijuana according to the facts given in (wikipedia).

Marijuana is far less addictive then alcohol based on the rate of dependence. It is much harder for one person to withdrawal from alcohol than marijuana. Deaths from the two substances are completely opposite. There are hundreds of alcohol overdose deaths each year, yet there has never been a marijuana overdose death in our history. The amount a person consumes in alcohol is also a direct cause to the tens of thousands of deaths the U.S. has each year.


Alcohol is one of the most toxic drugs and using just 10 times what one would use to get the desired effect leads to death. Marijuana is one of the least toxic drugs, requiring thousand times the dose one would use to get the desired effect to lead to death. Now the dose for marijuana may be more then a thousand times no one really knows since there has never been a marijuana overdose.

Long-term effect of alcohol or marijuana is different in its results.Long-term
marijuana use is far less harmful than long term alcohol use. There is little to dispute this statement, however, that long term marijuana use causes permanent cognitive impairment. There is also no clear cause and effect relationship to explain the psychosocial associations that accompany the use of marijuana. There are some physical health risks that are possible chances you could damage the airways in a marijuana smoker. The long term effect of alcohol can cause kidney failure as well as blindness and death. There has never been a case of lung cancer from someone who used marijuana only those who smoke cigars and cigarettes. Marijuana has not been associated with any type of cancer. However the same can not be said about alcohol. Alcohol has been found to contribute to many long-term negative health problems. These include cancers and cirrhosis of the liver.

In many other studies alcohol has been linked to contribute to domestic violence and sexual assault and marijuana use does not. Not to mention that alcohol use increases the chance of aggressive behavior and acts of violence whereas marijuana use reduces violent behavior. Marijuana affects the body much differently then alcohol does. Aside from the change in perception and most notably, mood, the most common short- term physical and neurological effects include increased heart rate, lowered blood pressure, impairment of episodic memory, working memory, psychomotor coordination, and concentration. When alcohol has been used the effects are similar in some ways. To much consumption of alcohol leads to drunkenness, this leads to hangovers. Depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, it could cause acute respiratory failure or death, impair judgment, cause reckless or irresponsible behavior. When it’s all said and done alcohol is a drug and marijuana is too.