With the increase in recreational use of marijuana, we are seeing an increase in people switching from alcohol to marijuana. This increase left a slight deficit in the profits of many beer companies. So naturally what did they do? They created marijuana infused beer.
For the majority of, and there aren’t a lot yet, marijuana infused beers on the market, they won’t actually give anyone a high. All of the marijuana infused alcohols in America are infused with marijuana oil, which contains little to no THC, the chemical that produces the high. However, one brewery in Ontario, Canada has made marijuana alcohol a different way. They took the roots, stems, and stocks of the cannabis plant, which usually are just thrown away. Because the beer is made with the actual plant and not just oil, it will produce a high. So what happens in your body when you mix alcohol and weed? Well, they’re both depressants.
For alcohol, this means that it changes the way that your neurons in your brain fire off signals to each other by suppressing the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, and increases the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which causes information coming into the brain to be processes slower. This is why someone who is drunk will feel less, perceive less, and remember less.
For weed, THC goes in and affects the brains natural receptors causing them to continually fire, with no rest or refractory period. This is why someone who is high will feel like they can perceive, think, or feel more. Weed also inhibits glutamate, which is why both are considered depressants.
Studies have been done on the effects of being drunk and high at the same time and what they found is if a participant was given a certain level of THC and then took two shots of alcohol, after time they had about twice as much THC in their system as participants who took placebo drinks. This means that alcohol increases the affects of marijuana. However, marijuana also inhibits the ability to vomit. This poses a risk for anyone that is high and drunk at the same time as vomiting is a way for the body to get rid of excess alcohol. So far, all studies have been done on marijuana and alcohol as separate substances. The creators of this marijuana-brew claim that the high comes on substantially quickly, which is unusual for an edible, or in this case drinkable. Only with time and study will we see how this new concoction will affect the body.
Sources:
AsapSCIENCE. “What Happens When You’re Drunk AND Stoned At The Same Time?” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Dec. 2016.
cbcnews. “Cannabis Beer Coming to Canada.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 May 2018.
Kassam, Ashifa. “Canada Is Making ‘Drinkable Marijuana’ In 2018.” MTL Blog, MTL Blog, 22 July 2018.
