The Relationship Between Marijuana And Alcohol

Alcohol and marijuana are two drugs commonly used and abused in the United States. Alcohol is the number one abused drug, while marijuana is number one among illegal drugs. While alcohol remains legal, and marijuana illegal, this does not necessarily mean that alcohol is better for you. There have been many arguments where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly. On the other hand, there are alcoholics who would tell a pothead that smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are very bad for your health and should not be heavily used by anyone.

Drunk driving is an issue that effects many people across our nation. People do not realize the affects alcohol can have on the body and mind that slow decision making while driving. This issue begins in the home. Children see their parents, or other adults figures, have a beer or a cocktail and get in the car. Thus, making it seem like it is acceptable to drink and drive. “One in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime” (MADD).

Although there are many commercials, ads, documentaries, seminars, etc. on the reasons why people should never drink and drive, you would be surprised how many people still get behind the wheel after having had more than just a drink or two. We might not realize it but every day, about 28 people in the United States die in car crashes that involve a drunk driver. This equals to one death every 51 minutes! It’s so sad because these statistics could be way better if people had a well thought out plan prior to going out drinking. There has been research found relating to Drinking and Driving Behaviors since this topic is now becoming more of an issue in this generation than it was in the past. For instance, Schell, Chan, and Morral (2006), found that some people who have a DUI record tend to have pretty high expectations of themselves even after having some drinks in their system (e.g., “I feel more relaxed when drinking"), so with that being said those people with higher confidence were the ones more likely to be engaged in drinking and driving activity. While intoxicated, we often don’t consider any negative consequences that can happen to us but as you’ll see on the news, on social media, in the newspapers, etc. driving while under the influence can be very dangerous and even fatal.

The U.S Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said that there's a big amount of people who have died from the use of alcohol but not from marijuana. (37,000 annual deaths in the U.S). Alcohol also damages the brain and causes serious problems. It is also proven that alcohol can give you a variety of cancers (stomach, lungs and liver) but on the other hand, marijuana helps to deal with it.

Marijuana has been proven to be safer than alcohol, yet marijuana is against the law. Alcohol is known to contribute to acts of violence and crime, while in most cases cannabis can reduce aggression in its users. “In last year’s cases of reported violent crime three million offenders had been drinking. Almost all cases of date rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence had some kind of connection to alcohol” (Medical Fact: Marijuana is Safer Than Alcohol, 2009). Marijuana has not been linked or has

"The problem with drinking and driving is the mourning after", a very simile quote has such a huge meaning behind it, in my family's case we got off lucky. It was a late night, my father received the phone call, I don't think I've seen that look ever in his eyes the 18 years I've been alive. It was about his brother he had gotten in a very catastrophic accident after making the horrible choice to drink and drive. It seemed like the longest drive to Dallas which is where my uncle was airlifted to go into surgery. We arrived at the hospital and were told he was unconscious so I waited in the waiting room with my cousins to comfort them while my aunt and dad were in the room with my uncle. After sitting in the gloomy waiting room for what seemed life forever I decided to take my cousins home we stopped by to get food. His choice to drink and drive was a very bad one, he was unfit to make such a big choice while not in the correct state of mind he had alcohol in his system and lots of it, he had no right to endanger not only his life but every other person that was around him while he was driving. Statistics show that Texas is the leading state for drunk driving cases and Harris county alone had 362 deaths in 2015 alone, driving under the influence not only has physical damage that can be done there's the emotional side that people have to deal with and what the families go through, drunk driving has more effects than just what just meets the eye. Drunk drivers

Marijuana and alcohol are the two most threatening drugs used in America today. Marijuana is the most illicit drug while alcohol is the most abused. Both were illegal during the prohibition but when the constitution was ratified in 1933 alcohol was made legal while marijuana remained illegal. It does not mean that because alcohol is still legal it’s less dangerous than marijuana. Both drugs lead to serious risks and should be taken with caution if used.

Alcohol and marijuana are two drugs commonly used and abused in the United States. Alcohol is the number one abused drug, while marijuana is number one among illegal drugs. While alcohol remains legal, and marijuana illegal, this does not necessarily mean that the alcohol is better for you. There have been many arguments where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly. On the other hand, there are alcoholics who would tell a pothead that smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are very bad for your health and should not be heavily used by anyone.

There has been reports of marijuana being less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. According to the British research foundation two deaths worldwide can be directly caused by marijuana, yet 150,000 people die from alcohol and tobacco (“Marijuana Less Harmful"). Moreover, CNN discusses the ongoing debate of marijuana legalization which concluded that alcohol is the most used addictive substance in the USA. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism documented that about 17.6 people suffer from alcohol abuse which causes withdrawal symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, nausea, and so on. While, marijuana symptoms are not fully understood, but the NSDA states 9% of people who smoke marijuana became addicted to it. The

In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in drunk driving incidents. Out of those people, 65% (6,515) were drivers, 27% (2,724) were passengers, and 8% (837) were non-passengers (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). Over half of those fatalities (67.1%) involved blood alcohol levels over .15% (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). The legal blood-alcohol content is .08%. Drunk driving caused 31% of deaths in car crashes in 2013 (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). In 2012, 402 people were killed by alcohol impairment in North Carolina (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). These numbers, though they seem astonishing, have been cut in half since 1991 (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). Even though the number of fatalities has been lowered, that number is not low enough. Most drunk drivers are repeat offenders. Lives are being taken because of the careless attitude of the drunk drivers. Drunk driving is selfish; those who commit this crime do not think about the extreme consequences of their actions. In North America it is estimated that 1-5 drivers has been drinking and 1 in 10 is legally impaired on any Friday or Saturday night (Root). Many groups, including MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), are fighting to stop drunk driving. Unfortunately, drunk driving cannot be stopped. People will always commit this heinous crime. The numbers may go down, but unfortunately there will always be a number. The only way to continually decrease the amount of lives lost is to increase punishments for drunk driving.

Marijuana is much safer then alcohol too. Marijuana is one of the few drugs without the risk of overdose. In 2006, alcohol was the cause of 22,073 deaths in the united states. Alcohol, by itself or combined with another illicit drug, was involved in approximately 577,521 emergency room visits. Marijuana use, on the other hand, has no effect, increasing or decreasing, on mortality. Marijuana was only involved in approximately 290,563 emergency room visits. This means that alcohol is involved in two times the amount of emergency room visits as marijuana and kills more people each year because marijuana doesn’t have a direct affect on mortality.

There are many problems in the world, but I am only going to focus on one major one. Drinking and driving, the percentage of teens in high school who drink and drive has decreased by more than half since 1991 (“Teen Drinking and Driving”). One in ten high schoolers drink and drive (“Teen Drinking and Driving”). Young drivers (ages 16-20) are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when they have a blood alcohol concentration of .08% than when they have not been drinking (“Teen Drinking and Driving”). Adults and teenagers think it okay to still drink and drive, because people believe they are less drunk than they actually are (“ReachOut.com”). If someone is drinking and they end up getting drunk, in their head, they believe they can do more than what they actually can do. They feel confident they can drive extra carefully and avoid an incident (“ReachOut.com”). They believe that while they are driving drunk, they can be careful about it and not get caught or get in an accident, but when you are drunk, you have absolutely no control over your body at all. So if you are driving while intoxicated, your body can take over and you 'll have no control over what you 're doing. Their ability to rationalize is suppressed, leading them to make rash decisions ("ReachOut.com"). They want to escape personal problems ("ReachOut.com"). They are trying to forget what is on their mind. They are ashamed or afraid to call someone to pick them up ("ReachOut.com"). In other words they are afraid

A lot of people do not take drinking and driving serious because they take they can make it home safe, but really they either get in wrecks or pulled over before ever making it home. “In 1996 there were 17,126 alcohol-related traffic fatalities, representing 41% of all traffic fatalities that year. In addition, more than 321,000 persons were injured in crashes where police reported the presence of alcohol involvement.¨ ()

Approximately one million people are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes every year and young people, ages 16 to 24 are involved in 28% of those alcohol-related driving accidents, although they make up only 14% of the U.S. population. On any given weekend evening, one in 10 drivers on America's roads has been drinking and according to the latest statistics, in a family of five the prospect of you or someone in your family being involved in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident in their lifetime, is an astounding 200 percent. That's a lot of tragic, meaningless deaths that could actually have been avoided.

Hello Alexandra, this is a very good topic for your research paper. I agree that there is not enough evidence to support the fact that marijuana is a much safer drug that alcohol. They both impair the user, but each has a different effect. Marijuana will have an effect on memory or the ability to concentrate, schoolwork, career, and affect their motivation. While alcohol abuse is a problem in itself, binge drinking is the being of a problem, which is defined as four drinks or women and five drinks for men in 2 hours. The two have their characteristic, and neither are safe for consumption.