If you’re one of those people who have always found it odd that alcohol and cigarettes are legal, yet weed is not, there’s some new research officially proving your point: Apparently, you’re 114 times more likely to die from ODing on alcohol than from cannabis.
Newsweek reported on a study published last month in the journal Scientific Reports which compared the risks of 10 different substances (alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, cocaine, MDMA, and more) and found the mortality risk associated with cannabis use was about 114 times less than that of alcohol. In other words, it’s 114 times more likely that you’ll die from drinking alcohol than you will from smoking weed.
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The report concludes that “the risk of cannabis may have been overestimated in the past,” and that “the risk of alcohol may have been commonly underestimated.” (The CDC cites injuries, risky sexual behaviors, alcohol poisoning, mental health problems, and alcoholism among the risks of alcohol use.) The report also suggests that marijuana be regulated legally, instead of the current “prohibition approach.”
Well, study authors, with Alaska officially legalizing weed today, it looks like your scientific information came at a pretty opportune time. (Four states have legalized recreational marijuana use, while 27 others and Washington, D.C. have decriminalized pot or legalized medical marijuana!)
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