With the rise in the popularity of CBD Oil due to its numerous health benefits, it was only a matter of time before CBD-infused products would enter the market.
The presence of CBD-infused oils, bath soaks, lip balms, body creams, and protein bars, among many other products, have already taken the market by storm. But there is another interesting combination available now: CBD Oil and Alcohol.
Alcohol manufacturers have joined this bandwagon, which is evident by the availability of CBD-infused beer at rave parties and night clubs.
There is also a simultaneous query in people’s minds: Is this newfound combination safe? What do experts have to say about?
Wellness seekers have taken CBD consumption by storm. CBD consumers wonder about the safety issues involved in taking alcohol and CBD together.
Therapeutic benefits of CBD have made it a regular dietary supplement that is taken with cocktails, beer, food, and lattes.
CBD consumers wonder! Is it a good idea to mix both? The short and sweet answer to this question is “YES”, but a detailed answer is complicated.
CBD improves energy levels but being intoxicated is different. Your own body response to both is best your best judge. Be cautious before experimentation! Let’s experts prove it to you…
The literature on the subject issue is scarce but scholars are definite about the interaction of both.
Most of them believe that both carry sedating features that augment each other when taken together – the output experience is intense and amplified.
Teen drinking is a serious public health issue in the United States. Alcohol is the most broadly used substance of abuse amongst youth, and drinking by young people poses tremendous health and safety risks.
Limited compound risks are involved to impair motor and psychomotor performances while consuming CBD under alcohol influence. We do not suggest to drive regardless you accompanied CBD with alcohol intake.
Clinical trials observed noticeably reduced blood alcohol levels among those who received both CBD and alcohol. Taking CBD capsules with alcohol reduces blood alcohol levels – it does not rule out the chances of cognition and motor impairment.
CBD does not mitigate alcohol consumption consequences. CBD and alcohol carry depressant, numbing, relaxing and sedative effects.
Although CBD does not alter mind when consumed together – they intensify more even if taken with a four to eight hours gap.
The outcomes are alleviated inhibition and motor coordination loss. CBD is good to manage alcohol-induced nausea and headache.
CBD may reduce the chances of liver damage and neurodegeneration when consumed with alcohol but overall it mitigates the alcohol effects.
CBD prevents alcohol-induced liver damage by preventing a decrease in autophagy and an increase in oxidative stress.
CBD may also help to arrest alcoholism and alcohol use disorder (AUD). CBD may also control mental and physical triggers resulting in relapses and alcohol addiction.
The investigations about the combined consumption of CBD and alcohol are yet underdone. You have to have a thorough understanding of your own body that how it responds to CBD, alcohol and both.
Mixing CBD and alcohol makes you feel more relaxed but do not agree less than reaching home safely before taking both together.
More scholastic work is required to come up with rock-hard rhetoric. We suggest learning more by talking to your doctor.
In this article, we will be talking at length about the interaction between alcohol and CBD Oil and the present research done in this area. Is it feasible to label the two as a power couple or do we need to wait before providing a suitable opinion? Let’s see how well does the combination work!
Mixing Alcohol & CBD Oil: Is This An Upcoming Trend?
Most certainly.
For those who might be unaware of CBD, it is an acronym for Cannabidiol, which is an active compound found in marijuana and an essential element of medical marijuana.
It is prevalent in the US and beyond due to its therapeutic properties. People have started to use this as an ingredient for their post-workout shake and also in their morning coffee.
For many individuals, CBD has become a part of the routine lifestyle for an average US citizen.
But how did the come combination of Alcohol and CBD Oil come about?
In a rather simplistic manner, we can see the combination of Alcohol and CBD Oil as an attempt to balance the negatives of drinking with the positives of CBD Oil.
It makes sense to reiterate the significance of CBD in maintaining and elevating a person’s mental and physical health without any inhibiting side effects.
As CBD neither induces a “high” in its user and nor contains any intoxicants, it was given the spotlight to address the problems associated with drinking.
Roughly 80,000 people die from alcohol-related issues annually while 26.45 percent of the US citizens stated that they engaged in binge drinking one month prior to reporting their status.
Alcohol abuse is common in many households and teenagers in their student life are more prone to develop an unhealthy drinking habit that can cause a lot of problems, both in the short-run and the long.
Therefore, it made sense for manufacturers to develop CBD-infused alcohol, which could not only mitigate the harmful effects of alcohol but also turn the drinking experience into a potentially beneficial one.
It should, however, be noted that research in this area is still an emerging domain where the medical benefits are based upon anecdotal evidence instead of empirical ones.
We will strive to separate authentic research and case studies from word-of-mouth and popular claims to better understand the interaction between CBD Oil and alcohol. It may get a bit overwhelming to follow the research articles, so we have distilled the important bits and pieces in the next section.
Alcohol and CBD Oil: Likely Benefits and Concerns
According to a study on the “Interaction of cannabidiol and alcohol in humans”, it was reported that participants who took CBD plus alcohol had lower levels of blood alcohol, as opposed to the ones who only consumed alcohol.
On the flip side, the combination also met some underwhelming comments and adverse results.
“In the [small] studies I’ve seen, there wasn’t a noticeable difference between people who had alcohol and those who had alcohol with CBD.
Their experiences were in line with what happens when you have alcohol [alone],” says Jackie Harding, a scientist at cannabis research and development company Cannabistry Labs. “It’s not like you’re going to feel better if you have CBD when you have a cocktail.”
A recent study concluded that CBD worsens alcohol-induced birth defects during early embryonic development. This raises a significant concern over the use of the combined product to make the eventual results positive.
We will shift our approach a bit now.
Instead of primarily focusing on the combination to yield a good drinking experience, we will narrow down to the positive influence of CBD oil on alcohol.
Liput explored the impact of CBD on alcohol-induced neurodegeneration in a rodent model and consequently demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing CBD to address alcohol-induced neurodegeneration.
Similarly, cannabinol was also shown to protect the liver from acute alcohol-induced steatosis or oxidative stress by Yang L. The motivation behind this study was due to the antioxidating properties of CBD that is particularly helpful in combatting inflammation.
Finally, experimental studies hinted towards the reduction of alcohol-related brain damage through the consumption of CBD.
If we look closely at the mental and physical effect of consuming alcohol and CBD, separately, then both tend to boost feelings of relaxation. CBD is particularly effective in enhancing the quality of sleep.
Consequently, it is safe to infer that the simultaneous consumption of both CBD and alcohol may amplify the mood or effect that you are seeking to experience.
If you wanted to stop those invasive, anxious thoughts troubling your mind, then the CBD-infused alcohol might give provide a larger amount of relief that you anticipated, and this is not always a good thing to happen.
In an interview with Tonic, Professor of Neurology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center, James Giordano remarked that “taking CBD and alcohol together can exaggerate the effects of both compounds.”
Your method of ingestion can also impact the likely effects of consuming CBD and alcohol. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some people experience more impairment when having CBD through vaping.
A plausible reason may be the ratio of CBD to THC in vape strains. According to a controlled study of 2015, it was reported that the effect of THC is augmented when consuming alcohol due to higher blood THC levels that can lead to performance impairments.
It is also worthwhile to mention the therapeutic effect of CBD in treating drug- and alcohol abuse. Gustavo established the “potential of CBD in relapse prevention” which elevates the efficacy of medical marijuana while implicitly supporting the consumption of CBD and alcohol together.
Understand Your Physical Response
This is perhaps the most important tip that we can impart to you.
CBD Oil impacts people differently. The intensity varies from person to person based on the age group they belong to, the frequency of their usage, and the quality of CBD Oil.
In UK, CBD-related products are currently classified as a “Food Supplement”. A similar attitude is being pursued by the shops in the US.
However, this gives rise to misinformation and deception. According to a Penn Study, 70 percent of cannabinol extracts are “mislabeled.”
Similarly, CBD products available on the market may not only understate or overstate the content of CBD present in vape or oil, but they may also not contain CBD extract at all.
Therefore, it is pertinent to be mindful of such instances and purchase a high-quality and genuine product.
Once this step is dealt with, you should ideally start off with small doses of both alcohol and CBD oil to ascertain the effects of the combination.
Keep a diary to record any changes you experience such as dozing off, a sedating impact, or alterations in mood.
By being proactive instead of reactive, you can reduce any possible negative impacts and also make any changes when necessary.
Conclusion
The aforementioned research studies form the bulk of literature available on the topic at hand. We do understand that there are conflicting opinions on the mixing of Alcohol and CBD oil, but the overall picture seems to be rather positive.
Proper clinical trials remain highly desired to determine the risks and benefits of the interaction between the two opposing yet similar elements. But the trials would require a dedicated amount of time, expertise, and funds.
A drawback of the available literature that we can’t condone is the application of animal testing in the majority of research studies. This adversely impacts the universality of the results we spoke of earlier, positive and negative alike.
With no absolute rule or an all-encompassing opinion from the experts, it makes sense to use common sense. Start with small doses and be mindful of the impact of CBD-induced alcohol on your mind and body.
As Giordano wittingly concludes about the interaction of CBD and alcohol for a newbie, he says, “If there’s any prediction at all, that prediction is, that person’s going to be pretty stoned.”
It is too soon to conclude what will exactly happen, but as the research keeps on evolving, we are confident that the answer is just around the horizon.