Does Alcohol And Cannabis Mix?

greenbuddha · January 3, 2013

Do Alcohol and Marijuana Mix? Posted by CN Staff on January 03, 2013 at 06:39:03 PT

By John Ingold, Denver Post

Colorado -- In the debate over what marijuana legalization means for Colorado, the best drug-policy brains in the nation say there is one question getting short shrift: If people can more easily toke, does that mean they will drink less?

It is, for now, a question without an answer. But what that answer is, the experts say, will be a big factor in determining whether marijuana legalization is worth it.

"A small change in alcohol has a bigger social impact than a large change in cannabis," said UCLA professor Mark A.R. Kleiman, one of the authors of the book "Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know." "So it ought to matter a lot whether the change is in the right direction or wrong direction."

The legalization of use and possession of small amounts of marijuana for those 21 and older in Colorado and Washington will provide researchers worldwide with the best chance ever to study the interplay of alcohol use and marijuana use. The topic is what academics refer to as "cross-price elasticities of demand." It basically means how changes in the price and accessibility of one substance impact the use of a different substance.

What researchers will be trying to settle is whether alcohol and marijuana are substitutes — meaning people use one but not the other — or whether they are complements — meaning they are used together.

If they are substitutes and people switch from booze to pot, experts such as Beau Kilmer, the co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, say marijuana legalization could be a net benefit for society, even if problems related to marijuana use increase.

"The social costs of marijuana use really pale in comparison to what we see as the social costs of heavy alcohol consumption," Kilmer said.

Snipped

Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_22300820/

Source: Denver Post (CO)

Author: John Ingold, Denver Post

Published: January 3, 2013

Website: http://www.denverpost.com/

Contact: openforum@denverpost.com

CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archives

http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help