In the United States i deaths caused by alcohol have doubled. Confirming the dramatic nature of the situation are the data collected from 1999 to 2017 which confirm that in recent years, people who have died or whose deaths are related to alcohol intake have gone from 35,914 to 72,558.
Luckily, according to one study funded at the federal level, in countries where the cannabis it is legal they decrease alcohol use disorders (AUD) compared to states where cannabis is still illegal.
Where cannabis is legal, alcohol use disorders decrease
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) it is a pathology characterized by a reduced ability to stop drinking alcohol despite the negative consequences at a social, professional or health level.
The researchers of the study published in Psychological Medicine they tested the effects of cannabis legalization on this disorder, comparing data from countries where this substance is regulated or not.
Led on 240 pairs of twins, assessed first in adolescence and then between the ages of 24 and 49, residing in states with different cannabis policies, the research highlighted that recreational legalization was associated with an increase in cannabis use and decrease in AUD symptoms.
The researchers, after specifying that these data are “difficult to interpret and deserve further investigation in future work”, they stated that the results were “reassuring compared to public health concerns regarding the legalization of recreational cannabis".
In particular they observed that the twin who lived in a state where recreational use is permitted”used cannabis more often on average and had fewer AUD symptoms compared to the co-twin who resided in a State where adult use, however, is not permitted".
CBD to reduce alcohol dependence
The CBD, or cannabidiol, is a cannabinoid of the cannabis plant known for its therapeutic abilities and which, unlike THC, it has no psychoactive effects on the nervous system.
According to recent studies, the CBD can treat alcohol addiction, reducing the irrepressible desire to use it, limiting its consumption and protecting the liver and brain from the inevitable resulting damage.
