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We compared which of these two is worst for your health and the result will surprise you

When comparing weed and alcohol, there are lots of factors to consider, including effects on your heart, brain, and behavior. Yet there seems to be a winner.

Which is worse for you: weed or whiskey?

It's a tough call, but based on the science, there appears to be a clear winner.

Keep in mind that there are dozens of factors to account for, including how the substances affect your heart, brain, and behavior, and how likely you are to get hooked. Time is important, too — while some effects are noticeable immediately, others only begin to shape up after months or years of use.

The comparison is slightly unfair for another reason: While scientists have been researching the effects of alcohol for decades, the science of cannabis is a lot murkier due to its mostly illegal status.

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30,722 Americans died from alcohol-induced causes in 2014. There have been 0 documented deaths from marijuana use alone.

study

Marijuana appears to be significantly less addictive than alcohol.

Close to half of all adults have tried marijuana at least once, making it one of the most widely used illegal drugs. Yet research suggests that a relatively small percentage of people become addicted. For a large 1994 survey, epidemiologists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse asked more than 8,000 people between the ages of 15 and 64 about their drug use. Of those who had tried marijuana at least once, roughly 9% eventually fit a diagnosis of addiction. For alcohol, the figure was about 15%. To put that in perspective, the addiction rate for cocaine was 17%, while heroin was 23% and nicotine was 32%.

Marijuana may be harder on your heart; while moderate drinking could be beneficial.

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Unlike alcohol, which slows down your heart rate, marijuana speeds it up, which could have negative short-term effects on the heart. Still, the largest-ever report on cannabis from theound insufficient evidence to support or refute the idea that cannabis might increase the overall risk of a heart attack.

On the other hand, low to moderate drinking —

Alcohol is strongly linked with several types of cancer; marijuana is not.

In November, evidence that drinking alcohol —as little as a glass of wine or beer per day— increases the risk of developing both pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer. The US Department of Health lists alcohol as a known humancarcinogen. Research highlighted by the National Cancer Institute suggests that the more alcohol you drink —particularly the more you drink— the higher your risk of developing cancer.

For marijuana, some evidence initially suggested a link between smoking and lung cancer, but that hs been debunked. The large January report found that

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Both drugs may be linked with risks while driving, but alcohol is worse.

Several studies link alcohol with violence, particularly at home. That has not been found for cannabis.

It's impossible to say whether drinking alcohol or using marijuana causesviolence, but several studies suggest a link between alcohol and violent behavior. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, alcohol is a factor in 40% of all violent crimes, and a

On the other hand, no such relationship appears to exist for cannabis. A recent study looked at cannabis use and intimate partner violence in the first decade of marriage, and found that marijuana users were significantly against a partner than those who did not use the drug.

Both drugs negatively impact your memory, but in different ways. These effects are the most common in heavy, frequent, or binge users.

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Both weed and alcohol temporarily impairmemory while they are being used, and alcohol can cause blackouts by rendering the brain incapable of forming memories. In terms of their long-term effects, the most severe impacts are seen in heavy, chronic, or binge users who begin using in their teens.

For marijuana, studies have shown that these effects can

Both drugs are linked with an increased risk of psychiatric disease. For weed users, psychosis and schizophrenia are the main concern; with booze, it's depression and anxiety.

The largest existing review of marijuana studies substantial evidence

Alcohol appears to be linked more closely with weight gain than marijuana, despite weed's tendency to trigger the munchies.

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