Marijuana and drinking might lead to various kinds of dangerous consequences for teenagers, a new report suggests. Scientists assessed 2007 to 2011 information collected from over 7,400 high school seniors in the U.S. who stated they’d consumed marijuana or alcohol at least one time.
The researchers discovered that consuming alcohol was connected with more damage to relationships with romantic partners and friends, unsafe driving, and regret concerning actions while underneath the influence of alcohol, particularly amongst females.
Marijuana use, on the other hand, was more oftentimes tied to worsening relationships with supervisors and teachers, less interest or energy, and poorer job or school performance, according to the investigators.
Nearly 50% of seniors in high school have consumed pot in their lifetime and more than 2/3 have consumed alcohol, yet few reports have compared adverse psychosocial results of marijuana and alcohol directly resulting from usage, according to Joseph Palamar, study author and researcher associated with the NYU Center for Drug Use & HIV Research.
The most ‘alarming discovery’ included the level to which consuming alcohol was tied to unsafe, reckless driving amongst youth, according to Palamar. He added that as compared with those who did not drink, frequent drinkers were more than 13 times more likely to state that their alcohol intake led to dangerous driving. Marijuana users, as compared with non-users, were 3 times more likely to state dangerous driving as a result of use.
According to Palamar, among those who stated they regretted actions in their past, the likelihood of regret was greater amongst frequent drinkers than amongst the ones who consumed marijuana.
Researchers stated that increasing support for cannabis legalization in the U.S. has led to controversy regarding whether pot is safer than alcoholic beverages and additional substances.
Palamar added that he hopes the findings of the study is going to contribute to the ongoing controversy on cannabis policy and its perceived danger when compared with alcohol.
