What is worse for brain - alcohol or marijuana?
Alcohol can have a more negative effect on the brain than marijuana, especially for teenagers.
Chronic alcohol consumption is associated with a decrease in gray matter in the brain, which consists of brain cell bodies and synapses. Also, alcohol consumption in older people is associated with a decline in the integrity of the white matter of the brain, which is primarily composed of long nerve fibers that carry messages through the nervous system. Cannabis use, on the other hand, is not linked to any of the listed side effects.
Elements that negatively affect the brain
For this informations, we used one research.These research conclusions should not, of course, be construed as the beginning and end of a major debate over whether marijuana is harmful to the brain. In this study, marijuana use was taken into account only in the last 30 days, and participants had a fairly low level of marijuana consumption that could affect some other aspects of the brain that were not covered by the study. But the research fits into a whole series of papers that have resulted in different conclusions about how marijuana affects the brain.
Some animal research, for example, suggests that some cannabinoids, compounds in cannabis, may have a protective role for the nervous system. Research on humans, on the other hand, has shown varying results.
A large 2016 study found no changes in the gray matter after marijuana use but found that marijuana consumption was associated with declining white matter quality or connections between brain cells, especially in people who actively use marijuana from an early age. Researchers reviewed brain scans of about 850 adults who consumed the substances between the ages of 18 and 55, and of approximately 440 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19 who consumed substances. All those who participated in the study reported to researchers the different levels of alcohol and cannabis use. Alcohol was consumed more often than marijuana, with 487 adults (57%) and 113 teenagers (26%) saying they had consumed only alcohol in the past six months, and 5 adults (0.6%) and 35 teenagers (8%) they said they had only used cannabis for the past six months. Others used both substances.
Alcohol or marijuana?
The research team came to the following conclusions: heavier alcohol use led to a greater decline in gray matter and a decline in the quality of bonds in white matter. In contrast, no statistically significant effects of cannabis on gray or white matter were observed.
This research is significant due to the communication of health institutions aimed at the general public, which often points out one substance as extremely harmful, while the harmful effects of alcohol, which is widely accepted and normalized in society, are largely neglected. Of course, we do not suggest alcohol or marijuana use.
