A majority of Americans use alcohol, at least from time to time. A birthday party, a meeting with old friends, or just a hard day's night — and you could do with a drink or two. But what if you use CBD every day? Is it safe to use CBD and alcohol simultaneously? Let's figure out.
First of all, to understand all the possible circumstances, we'll briefly review the major effects of both CBD and alcohol.
Major effects of CBD
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical compound extracted from cannabis plants. However, unlike THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), another more popular compound of cannabis, CBD does not make you ‘high’.
If you are already using CBD, you may be familiar with at least some of the health benefits. It is an anti-inflammatory agent, an antioxidant and a very good anxiolytic. People use CBD for relaxation, for pain relief, to reduce convulsions, for better skin, help with their depression, and to sleep better.
These are just some of the health benefits of CBD, and the list is quite long. All these functions are results of CBD’s ability to influence the endocannabinoid system in the human body. This system is a collection of neurotransmitters and receptors. Since this system has control over the nervous system, immune system, brain, skin, mood, and appetite, CBD too can influence all those systems and organs inside your body.
Major Effects of Alcohol
The effects of alcohol significantly differ with the amount of alcohol you consume (unlike CBD which remains the same). Individual variations are there depending on the metabolic rate and body composition. Two people consuming the same volume of alcohol will have different results. A more reliable predictor to effects would be the blood alcohol concentration.
At lower blood alcohol concentrations, one would get a sense of euphoria. There will be an improvement in mood, self-confidence, and sociability with less anxiety. However, even at this stage, muscle coordination and ability of judgment are going down.
At slightly higher blood alcohol levels, one would feel sedated, have blurred vision, decreased reaction time, and reduce memory. This stage can soon lead to dizziness, vomiting, and confusion. Most people stop at this stage, but if one continues to drink beyond this point, they will come to critical stages of drinking.
At even higher levels of alcohol in your blood, you will lose consciousness, there will be memory loss, heart rate, and respiration will go down, and you will lose control over your bladder functions. Further down the road, this will lead to coma, severe respiratory depression, and even death.
CBD Oil and Alcohol
So what are the effects of using CBD oil and alcohol together? How is it going to affect you in the short term and long term?
Using CBD and Alcohol Together
You may either use CBD-infused alcohol beverages or just drink something at the same period when you use CBD regularly. When you take the two together, they augment the actions of each other. When combined, it leads to increase in similar activities and decrease in contrasting responses.
For example, both of them have sedative properties. So when you take CBD oil and alcohol together, you may have marked sedation.
On the other hand, CBD can prevent vomiting. However, at higher stages, alcohol leads to vomiting — so, by taking CBD together with alcohol, you may reduce the chances of throwing up. The reduction of vomiting may seem like a good thing, but vomiting is the body’s defense mechanism of avoiding intoxication with alcohol. If you stop vomiting, it can very well lead to more severe stages of intoxication which may be quite dangerous.
Having said that, the CBD-infused beers and cocktails have reported no significant problems to its users — of course, if consuming mindfully. Therefore, if you consume low amounts of alcohol, the risk of having harmful effects are quite small.
Reducing the Blood Alcohol Level
While CBD oil and alcohol may increase sedation, the combination is also effective at lowering blood alcohol levels. A 1970’s study looked at this. However, the study had a few flaws. First, there were only ten participants. And they used 200mg of CBD for each dose, which is a high dose by modern standards. To provide a better understanding of how this works and whether it is possible to achieve the same effects with mild to moderate CBD doses, further studies are required.
Long-Term Benefits
Alcohol, when taken for a long time or at higher doses, can damage your brain and liver. CBD is able to protect these organs and decrease the damage. Animal studies have shown that CBD can prevent liver cell damage by reducing fat deposition, oxidative stress damage, and also removing the already damaged cells. As for the brain, the neuroprotective functions of CBD can protect your neurons.
Alcohol Addiction
CBD has been tested to help with drug addictions. Even though taken from the cannabis plant, CBD is not an addictive substance. Addiction to cannabis is due to THC, which can be somewhat reversed by CBD. The same function can be applied to help those who are suffering from alcohol addiction. Unfortunately, only animal studies are there to support these theories. Proper clinical research will tell how effective CBD at helping those who are suffering from alcohol addiction.
Things to Consider
If you are a CBD user, there are several things you need to keep in mind about alcohol.
There are not many studies done on the effects of combining the two. So when you want to use CBD and continue your drinking habits, it is always best to ask your doctor. Especially those who use CBD for health conditions such as epilepsy or strong pains, you will need advice of your healthcare provider regarding the possible interactions with alcohol. It would help if you discussed this with your physician at the time of the prescription to avoid guesswork at a later stage.
Even if you are using CBD as a health product for relaxation or to help you sleep better, try not to mix the two. If you wish you can use alcohol but keep the volume to a minimum. Gradually increase the amount as long as you do not feel any discomfort or excessive sedation.
Another essential thing to keep in mind is the amount of time the CBD remains in your system. Generally, the half-life of CBD is around two days. So if you are an occasional drinker, you can safely use alcohol and avoid the CBD dose of that day. Missing a dose once in a while will do less harm than the unwanted effects of mixing CBD with alcohol.
Summary
Many people consume alcohol. Therefore the chance of interacting with CBD is very high. At lower doses, CBD oil and alcohol share a few effects in common. These common effects like sedation are augmented when you take them together. However, unlike CBD, the effects of alcohol drastically change as you increase the volume.
With limited research, it is difficult to say precisely how they interact with one another. However, limited human studies and some animal studies have shown that CBD can reduce blood alcohol levels, protect the liver and brain against the effects of alcohol use. It is also proposed to help with alcohol addiction.
With limited knowledge, it is best to take advice from a proper healthcare provider if you wish to use CBD and alcohol together. This point is crucial if you are using CBD for some health conditions. Others can use minimum amounts of alcohol when possible. Moreover, if you are an occasional alcohol user, the best thing is to skip the CBD dose of that day when you have a drink.