Which is more harmful: Alcohol or Marijuana?

1. 59

   ExpertCLBposted 14 years ago

   Which is more harmful: Alcohol or Marijuana?
   
   

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2. 59

   Alternative Primeposted 14 years ago

   Here's a very brief answer to a very complex question.
   
   According to Medical Experts both can have detrimental health consequences. Alcohol of course can do serious damage to a persons liver if consumed in excess, and the other, Marijuana can have detrimental consequences on a persons lungs or respiratory system.
   
   That being said, I've never heard of anyone being injured by someone who was under the influence of "Marijuana" while driving a vehicle... So I guess alcohol wins the prize in that respect as being the most "Harmful" to other innocent persons.
   
   Good Question,
   
   Alternative Prime

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3. 70

   Sullen91posted 14 years ago

   One prestigioius study conducted by the Lancet, a medical journal, ended up concluding that alcohol is accountable for 4% of deaths worldwide, on the whole. Cannabis on the other hand, to my knowledge, hasn't been implicated in any deaths. Speculated, adverse effects involve the method of administration (smoking) and not cannabis (THC) in itself.

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4. 52

   vik482posted 14 years ago

   While both have psychoactive effects that intoxicate and change behavior of the consumer, alcohol has more serious effects in the physiology of the body than cannabis. Decreased motor co-ordination, stupor, alcohol [poisoning etc are all severe side-effects of alcohol. Whereas marijuana just make you stoned.

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5. 70

   onegoodwomanposted 14 years ago

   In my experiences, working with women's shelters, I have never  heard:
   
   "he got high( on pot) and beat me up"................alcohol was often, very often a factor.
   
   I am no doctor, and have no  medical training.  It does seem that the effects of alchol are the most immediate and determinal to others.
   
   I can not speak for the long term effects on the lungs vs those of the liver.

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6. 59

   BobbiRantposted 14 years ago

   I think it may not matter what we think.  Alcohol is more readily accepted by society so hence, it is sold to everyone and alcohol has a big lobby so it will always be around.  To me a drug is a drug, is a drug, so I'd say pot is no more harmful than alcohol.  It's the fear factor with pot: "OMG, we legalize pot then it looks like America condones drug use."  Of course we condone controlled substances doled out by drug companies and doctors, but then they make scads of money off those drugs and they can control the revenue.

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7. 60

   Rebecca Saundersposted 14 years ago

   Taking aside legality - both have their benefits and drawbacks.
   
   Marijuana has been successfully used in treating pain in some chronic conditions. But it has also been linked to contributing to high incidences of mental health issues - especially the cannabis of a stronger, enhanced variety.
   
   This mental health prevalence may be due to a predisposition to such illnesses, and it has often been linked to suicide. So it does have an incidental link to causing death.
   
   It has also been labelled a 'gateway' drug - leading on to using 'harder' drugs, by a small percentage of users.
   
   Some people may use it recreationally with very minimal side effects.
   
   Alcohol too is often used recreationally with responsibility. However it is well known the impact alcohol abuse can have on our society : violence, relationship breakdown, car accidents etc.
   
   Once a person has a dependency to alcohol  though - going through alcohol withdrawal can be more dangerous than any other type of drug withdrawal - heroin is considered less dangerous to withdraw from. Alcohol withdrawal can cause death.
   
   Having worked in the drug and alcohol treatment field for years I would agree that alcohol does have a greater toll on and cost to society, and therefore cause more harm.

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8. 40

   binnys18303posted 14 years ago

   As per all these comments Marijuana holds a secure position but I think both are neutral if taken in least quantity. :-)

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9. 0

   Butch Newsposted 14 years ago

   Definitely alcohol... not that pot can't have its problems.  But alcohol produces a lot of alcoholics and that is a sure fire way down the road to complete loser.
   
   Pot heads can be quite functional even when stoned.  Some are even more productive when stoned.  But you wouldn't want a drunk working for you.

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10. 59

    nightwork4posted 14 years ago

    alcohol by a long shot. that is a simple fact though many have been led to believe that pot is a terrible drug , to me and from what i've seen and experienced , alcohol is the cause of so many bad things.

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11. 63

    Wayne Orvisburgposted 14 years ago

    I'd say alcohol is mare harmful. For starters, drunk driving kills lots of innocent people. Also, I believe I have read that marijuana is not physically addictive. It's the mental addiction people must overcome. While with alcohol it is both.

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12. 61

    Jaymeyarochposted 14 years ago

    Alcohol actually disrupts your brain messages.
    
    Mary Jane depresses the sending of messages.
    
    Alcohol tears up your liver.  Sure, it grows back, but should it have to?
    
    Marijuana doesn't destroy any organs, though it can make you wrinkly the same way cigarettes or smoking anything does.
    
    Alcohol has limited medical benefits, such as red wine (one glass only) for stress relief, or as an antiseptic.
    
    Marijuana is used to treat AIDS, glaucoma, some forms of cancer, as a pain reliever, stress reliever, and appetite stimulant.  It can increase the lifespan of a terminally ill patient by years without the harmful side effects of synthetic chemicals.
    
    Both are hallucinogens, but I've never known anyone to black out from too much pot, or get marijuana poisoning.
    
    Also keep in mind that anything in excess is a terrible thing, even oxygen.

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13. 61

    pinetreehuggerposted 14 years ago

    That's a complicated question, however I would say from experience alcohol is.

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14. 67

    thumbi7posted 13 years ago

    I am not much aware about the physiological effects of marijuana in human body except that it causes addiction. But alcohol, for sure can be lethal if taken in excessive amounts for prolonged period.

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15. 67

    thumbi7posted 13 years ago

    Alcoholic liver disease can  be manifested as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis. It can lead to complications like esophageal varices and caput medusae. read more

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16. 80

    poet83posted 12 years ago

    There is no doubt in my mind that alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana. Though neither one is actually healthy, alcohol is proven to have detrimental effects on the body, particularly the liver. We always hear about someone dying of liver cancer because they were a heavy drinker, but have you ever heard of someone dying from lung cancer because of smoking weed? That's not to say it couldn't contribute to some sort of malady but there isn't really any concise evidence that I've seen that links a person's death to frequent marijuana use. Not only that, but I know for a fact that someone can smoke a whole joint, or maybe even two, and be ten times safer on the road than someone who's drank a fair amount of alcohol.

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17. 57

    cathyaddams567posted 12 years ago

    I think both of them are harmful because they both do harm to our body. Which is why we must go to an inpatient substance abuse treatment if ever we are an alcoholic. Get to know more about this at http://abusetreatmentcenters.net/

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