CBD and Alcohol: Will They Go Together?
You may be one of the regular consumers of CBD, and you might love to indulge in drinking alcohol. So it may come to your mind to mix CBD and alcohol. It’s not far from impossible as there are available drinks infused with CBD.
Since the mixture is done, you don’t only need to think about what’s on the surface. You have to dig deeper into the effects and what might happen from the blend. You may have thoughts and concerns about it. This article will show you how.
About CBD and Alcohol
CBD is naturally produced by the Cannabis plant. It doesn’t contain any psychoactive properties like THC. CBD provides therapeutic relief for many health conditions. It has shown the potential to be a part of pain management, improve skin health, reduce anxiety, and many more.
It has widespread popularity, so it is available in various forms like capsules, shots, tinctures, sprays, and food products.
CBD has a sedative effect, while alcohol is a depressant. When you put them together, you will be in an enhanced relaxation.
Are you Safe from Taking the Combination of CBD and Alcohol?
A study that was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology way back 1979 can give you an explanation about this topic. The subjects who had alcohol and CBD altogether and those who only had alcohol didn’t show any difference in behavior.
The two groups of subjects have exhibited impairments of psychomotor and motor performance as well as estimation of the time. They are all impaired and inhibited. Behind the effects, a difference surfaced. The group of people who had an intake of CBD and alcohol seems to have a lower level of blood alcohol.
CBD may decrease your blood alcohol, but it doesn’t assure you for you just to act without caution. Don’t be overconfident to consume more alcohol as you also have CBD. You also need to avoid using any motor vehicle as you would still feel like you’re under the influence of alcohol.
What Can CBD Do to Reverse the Side Effects of Alcohol
A lot of people got curious about the combination of CBD and alcohol. So even several researchers conducted a study about it. They were able to see promising results. Here are some of them.
1. Prevention of Disease and Cell Damage
It is known that alcohol consumption brings cell damage, increases inflammation, and makes you more prone to chronic diseases like liver disease, pancreatitis, and some kinds of cancer.
A study that has rats as subjects and had the application of CBD gel showed a result that this compound could lower damage on brain cells. This targeted condition is the effect of too much alcohol consumption. So CBD can give protection.
A different study shows that rats gained protection from fatty liver disease as they are injected with CBD. There’s an increase in autophagy, which is a procedure that encourages the turnover of the regeneration of new cells and tissues. But it still yet needs to be proven if it will have the same results with humans.
2. The Ability to Reduce Alcohol Blood Levels
BAC or Blood Alcohol Concentration is the amount of alcohol found in a person’s blood. If you have a high level of BAC, it will greatly impact the loss of cognitive function and motor control.
There are only a few kinds of research on this topic. One of them has 10 participants who took 200 mg of CBD with alcohol. But they also had a placebo, and the result of the study is that the alcohol blood levels of participants decrease.
Another study has given out conflicting results. The subjects didn’t show any decrease in alcohol blood levels. So more studies are needed to prove and confirm things.
3. It Can be Therapeutic for Alcohol Addiction
Some researchers have the belief that CBD can be used to treat alcoholism. It was shown in some studies that this compound reduces withdrawal and addiction.
A study has a result of CBD lowering the impulse to drink alcohol and preventing relapse. It was done with rats that are addicted to alcohol. But the research with humans as subjects is limited.
However, there’s a study that gained a result that smokers who use CBD inhaler decrease their inclination of smoking by 40%. These results give ideas that CBD can treat addiction. More studies should be done to make it a fact.
Are You Given Assurance that Combination of CBD and Alcohol is Safe?
The research done within the scope of this topic is not enough as of the moment. The result of some studies is unanimous that CBD can lessen the side effects of alcohol consumption. But it needs to be proven with enough research.
Moreover, the effects of CBD on its users differ from person to person. So it’s another factor that makes it more determined whether the blend of CBD and alcohol is good or bad.
The research that has been conducted focused on the high amount of alcohol taken by a person. The low amount of drinks is not considered to be used in the study. It can’t be determined whether a low or high amount of alcohol is needed to gain benefits. If you want to gain benefits from CBD and alcohol, you have to know if you need to drink alcohol moderately or heavily. It needs preciseness, which is not included in the studies.
It’s not highly recommended for you to take CBD and alcohol all at the same time. There’s no assurance of the exact effects. But if you still want to have it, you better take it in low amounts and dose. You have to be wise and responsible to avoid any adverse effects. You may also need to ask advice from a physician regarding this matter.
Some Important Thoughts
The combination of CBD and alcohol may heighten the effects of each other. Taking high doses of these two substances can result in sedation and sleepiness. Some positive results came out, but you have to wait for more updates as there’s still a lot to prove. Stay on the low dose and amount if you want to have to consume the two of them at the same time.
