CBD-Dominant Marijuana Associated with Reduced Alcohol Use

The consumption of CBD-dominant marijuana is associated with reductions in people’s intake of alcohol, according to new data.

Investigators assessed the relationship between cannabis consumption and alcohol intake in 120 subjects assigned to use one of three legal-market cannabis strains (predominantly THC, predominantly CBD, and relatively equal ratios of CBD and THC), NORML reported.

The investigators found that participants assigned to use CBD-dominant marijuana during the trial period “drank fewer drinks per drinking day, had fewer alcohol use days, and fewer alcohol and cannabis co-use days compared with the other groups.”

Subjects assigned to the other two groups reported no changes in their drinking patterns.

The researchers acknowledged that the results were “consistent with preclinical work suggesting that CBD may be associated with decreased alcohol consumption.”

Separate studies have previously indicated that CBD may reduce subjects’ cravings for other controlled substances, including tobacco and heroin.

“The present study lends preliminary support to the notion that plant-based CBD may be associated with decreased alcohol consumption among regular cannabis users and suggests that it may be feasible for regular cannabis users to switch to a higher CBD, lower THC content cannabis strain for the purposes of reducing their alcohol intake,” the authors concluded.

Separate data published by the study’s co-authors in January similarly reported an inverse relationship between marijuana use and alcohol. In that study, chronic alcohol consumers significantly reduced their alcohol intake on days when they used cannabis as compared to days when they did not.