06/18/2026
Is cannabis better than alcohol?
Cannabis tends to come with fewer risks than alcohol, but there are a lot of factors to consider. They’re unique substances that produce different effects, which makes side-by-side comparisons difficult.
The short-term effects of cannabis and alcohol differ from person to person.
Getting drunk or high can feel similar to some people, while others describe the sensations as very different. Of course, the way you feel when you’re intoxicated also depends on how much of the substance you consume.
While being intoxicated with cannabis feels different than being intoxicated with alcohol, the two have roughly the same effect on your cognitive abilities, reflexes, and judgment.
Both can also leave you feeling a bit worse for wear the next day, though this is more likely to happen with alcohol.
There’s no easy answer to the cannabis versus alcohol debate. On the surface, cannabis appears to be safer, but there’s simply not enough evidence to declare a winner.
People’s responses to each substance can vary greatly, so what seems safer for one person might not work for someone else.
