How would society benefit if we all switched from booze to weed, read this https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/what-would-be-the-net-benefit-to-society-if-cannabis-was-adopted-as-the-recreational-drug-of-ch
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What Would Be The Net Benefit to Society
if Cannabis Was Adopted as the
Recreational Drug of Choice?
If cannabis and alcohol flip-flopped on usage numbers, what would America look like?
Posted by:
Reginald Reefer, today at 12:00am
Ganja Theories: How would society be influenced if Cannabis was the main legal recreational drug?
A recent YouGov Poll revealed that roughly 1 in 4 people in America (https://today.yougov.com/topics/food/survey-
results/daily/2022/02/28/b839f/3) believes that if people smoked more marijuana than they drank alcohol – it would be
generally “better”.
3. 3/16/22, 11:44 AM What Would Be The Net Benefit to Society if Cannabis Was Adopted as the Recreational Drug of Choice?
https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/what-would-be-the-net-benefit-to-society-if-cannabis-was-adopted-as-the-recreational-drug-of-ch 4/18
The question, “Would it be good or bad if the average American drank less alcohol and used more marijuana?”
received 27% saying “Good” and 20% saying “Bad”. Roughly 38% of the public however believed that it would be neither
“good” nor “bad” but rather would simply “be”.
Obviously, the younger the demographic of voters – the more in favor they were of the idea that “more cannabis
consumption over alcohol consumption” would be good. But this question brings us to the Ganja Theory of today –
would cannabis have a net benefit if it was the main legal drug of consumption for recreational purposes? In other
words, if cannabis was as commonly consumed as alcohol – would society receive a net benefit?
For the rest of the article, we’ll be discussing this idea.
Health wise more weed would be better…
4. 3/16/22, 11:44 AM What Would Be The Net Benefit to Society if Cannabis Was Adopted as the Recreational Drug of Choice?
https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/what-would-be-the-net-benefit-to-society-if-cannabis-was-adopted-as-the-recreational-drug-of-ch 5/18
When comparing alcohol and cannabis it is obvious that cannabis is the “less harmful” of the two substances. Firstly,
unlike alcohol – you cannot induce a lethal overdose with cannabis. The LD-50 of cannabis, when it was tested, is said to
be anywhere between 1:20,000 and 1:50,000 which means that you’d have to consume an inhumane amount of
cannabis to induce a lethal dose.
The LD-50 rating (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/ld50) – is a system used to
indicate toxicity of a drug in where when administered a dose 50% of the test animals die. When this happens, the LD-
50 of a particular drug is established. However, when it comes to cannabis.
At present, it is estimated that marijuana’s LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to
induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one
marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to
consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response. – SOURCE: Drug Policy
Facts (https://drugpolicyfacts.org/node/1469)
Compared to alcohol which places an LD-50 at about 13 shots where 1 shot = 45ml (40% AVB). In other words, a little
over a half a liter of spirits could kill you, or at least theoretically this is where 50% of test subjects would have a lethal
dose.
Not to mention, the general toll alcohol has on the body is quite extensive.
Here’s a short list of illnesses that could only come from excessive alcohol consumption;
Alcohol use disorder, also known as alcoholism
Alcoholic polyneuropathy (disease of the peripheral nerves)
Alcoholic myopathy (disease of muscle tissue)
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (heart disease)
Alcoholic gastritis (stomach inflammation)
5. 3/16/22, 11:44 AM What Would Be The Net Benefit to Society if Cannabis Was Adopted as the Recreational Drug of Choice?
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Alcoholic liver disease
Alcohol-induced pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation)
Fetal alcohol syndrome (birth defects)
SOURCE: DrugRehab (https://www.drugrehab.com/addiction/alcohol/diseases-and-disorders/)
And compare this to cannabis;
Cannabis Use Disorder (maybe)
Sure, I could list some other “potentials”, but none of the other elements on the list of the CDC can be claimed to come
from cannabis alone. However, when it comes to the alcohol related illnesses, there is extensive research on the matter.
Perhaps, more conditions might arise over time, but for now the list is quite short of verifiable side effects.
Simply put, when comparing the health impact of consuming alcohol versus the health impact of consuming cannabis –
there will be a net benefit to society because cannabis is not only less dangerous as a substance, it also has a lower
chance of forming addictive behavior.
Driving…
While no one is arguing that cannabis and driving should be done – when we compare the drunken swerving of
someone driving under the influence of alcohol versus that of someone stoned out of their mind because of weed – we
can notice that the cannabis drivers tend to (on average) driver slower due to more intoxication. Compared to alcohol
which tends to make people speed more and drive more recklessly.
Recent studies also showed that while Crash Rates spiked in some states that legalized cannabis, that only those who
combined alcohol and cannabis posed a statistical threat;
6. 3/16/22, 11:44 AM What Would Be The Net Benefit to Society if Cannabis Was Adopted as the Recreational Drug of Choice?
https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/what-would-be-the-net-benefit-to-society-if-cannabis-was-adopted-as-the-recreational-drug-of-ch 7/18
Crash rates spiked with the legalization of recreational marijuana use and retail sales in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon
and Washington, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and another by the affiliated Highway Loss
Data Institute (HLDI) show.
However, the preliminary results of a separate IIHS study of injured drivers who visited emergency rooms in California,
Colorado and Oregon showed that drivers who used marijuana alone were no more likely to be involved in crashes than
drivers who hadn’t used the drug. Source: HLDI (https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/crash-rates-jump-in-wake-of-marijuana-
legalization-new-studies-show)
In other words, alcohol is the main driver in traffic fatalities claiming more than 10,000 people each year to alcohol-
induced driving.
If cannabis was the predominant drug of choice, this could reduce the yearly traffic fatalities seeing that, “drivers who
used marijuana alone were no more likely to be involved in crashes than drivers who hadn’t used the drug.”
More Productive…
We’ve been told that stoners are lazy, but recent research tells us a different story. For starters, states that have
legalized cannabis see employees take fewer sick days (https://duckduckgo.com/?
q=cannabis+states+fewer+sick+days&ia=web) and a recent study saw that students who smoke marijuana were more
interested in taking up more challenging tasks (https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/22/02/25824450/cannabis-
consumers-show-higher-motivation-than-non-consumer-counterparts-study) than their non-smoking counter parts.
This isn’t to say that cannabis will keep you motivated, but it does show you that the old “lazy stoner trope
(https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/the-lazy-stoner-myth-debunked-turns-outs-lazy-stoners-are-more-active-than-
normal-people)” is outdated. However, being drunk significantly impacts your ability to produce.
A LinkedIn post by Dr. Daniel Amen explains;
7. 3/16/22, 11:44 AM What Would Be The Net Benefit to Society if Cannabis Was Adopted as the Recreational Drug of Choice?
https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/what-would-be-the-net-benefit-to-society-if-cannabis-was-adopted-as-the-recreational-drug-of-ch 8/18
In fact, the evidence from our brain imaging studies demonstrates that alcohol is the exact opposite. Even ONE glass of beer or
wine per day can be directly toxic to brain function. The SPECT scans of people who drink too much alcohol – more than three
drinks a week – look toxic.
It is associated with fatty liver disease, peripheral neuropathies (pain and tingling in hands, legs, and feet), damage to neurons,
especially those in the cerebellum, which is involved in physical and thought coordination, and mood. It interferes with the
absorption of vitamin B1, which predisposes people to serious cognitive problems. – SOURCE: Dr. Daniel Amen
(https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-much-does-drinking-alcohol-affect-your-next-day-dr-daniel-amen/)
Bottom line
While most Americans believe that consuming less of both drugs is probably best, the fact of the matter is that when
you switch from alcohol to cannabis you would begin to see significant improvement in your life in general. If this was
adapted by the masses – “Fact Checkers (me)” believe that there would be a net benefit to society.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
CANNABIS OVER BOOZE, READ THIS...
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These beneficial plants are also reputed for improving the plants' smell and taste though it is not explainable by science. This action caused by the male nettle
pollen which is responsible for improving the taste of some fruits and vegetables. It helps your cannabis plant tap into the botanical synergy that aids in
increasing the production of terpenes in the cannabis flowers.
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