Alcohol And Tobacco Are More Damaging To Users And Society Than Marijuana Is, Government-Funded Study Concludes

Alcohol and tobacco cause far more harms to people who consume them, and to
society overall, than marijuana does, according to a new government-funded
study.

A panel of 20 experts with professional experience with substance use
issues from across Canada were asked to evaluate 16 different drugs on 10
dimensions of harm to consumers, as well as six dimensions of harm to
others, scoring each on a scale of 0 to 100.

“Alcohol causes the most harm overall, with a cumulative weighted score of
79,” the study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found. “It
was followed by tobacco (45), nonprescription opioids (33), cocaine (19),
methamphetamine (19), and cannabis (15).”

The analysis, which was supported with Canadian Institutes for Health
Research grant funds, concluded that marijuana’s biggest harm comes not
from its effect on consumers but instead is related to the illegal market.

“Cannabis’s highest weighted score was for organized criminal activity,”
the paper, authored by a large team of academics affiliated with various
research institutions throughout Canada, the United Kingdom and New
Zealand, says. “Though more than 70 percent of Canadians who purchase
cannabis now do so through legal sources, organized criminal groups are
heavily involved in the remaining illegal cannabis market, from production
to distribution.”

Marijuana—which was legalized nationally in Canada in 2018 but remains
federally prohibited in the U.S.—is not completely without harms to
consumers, however, with the study finding that it “also scored relatively
high for mental harms to users (dependence, withdrawal, short- and
long-term impairment of mental functioning), ranking third in that combined
category.”

When it comes to alcohol, which is federally legal in the U.S., it “ranked
first in 9 of the 16 harm categories: drug-related damage to physical
health, withdrawal, short-term impairment of mental functioning, long-term
impairment of mental functioning, loss of tangibles, loss of relationships,
injury, family and social adversity, and economic cost,” the study found.

“This analysis of drug harms in Canada found that alcohol causes the most
harm overall… Alcohol was followed by tobacco, nonprescription opioids
(like fentanyl), cocaine, methamphetamine, and cannabis.”

Tobacco “ranked first in 4 of the 16 harm categories: drug-related
mortality, drug-specific damage to physical health, dependence, and
environmental damage,” the researchers wrote.

The paper concludes by urging governments to “consider the harm—both
individual and societal—caused by drugs and by the laws and regulations
that govern them” when developing drug policies.

The findings about relative harms of different substances may help explain
why alcohol consumption—and particularly tobacco use—have been gradually
declining over recent years, and why multiple surveys and studies have
indicated that more adults are opting for marijuana.

For example, recent polling shows that younger Americans are increasingly
using cannabis-infused beverages as a substitute for alcohol—with one in
three millennials and Gen Z workers choosing THC drinks over booze for
after-work activities like happy hours.

Another survey released last October found that a majority of Americans
believe marijuana represents a “healthier option” than alcohol. And most
also expect cannabis to be legal in all 50 states within the next five
years.

Smoking marijuana is also associated with “significantly” reduced rates of
alcohol consumption, according to a recent federally funded study that
involved adults smoking joints in a makeshift bar.

A study published in 2024 that looked at adults who drink cannabis-infused
beverages found more evidence of a “substitution effect,” with a
significant majority of participants reporting reduced alcohol use after
incorporating cannabinoid drinks into their routines.

In September, an international study identified a a “strong negative
association” between tobacco use and legal medical marijuana sales,
indicating a “strong potential substitution effect” where people choose to
use cannabis where it is allowed instead of smoking cigarettes.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration considers moving marijuana out of
Schedule I, the most restrictive category under U.S. federal law, another
recent study concluded that cannabis isn’t as dangerous as its current
classification would suggest.

The post Alcohol And Tobacco Are More Damaging To Users And Society Than
Marijuana Is, Government-Funded Study Concludes appeared first on Marijuana
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