Cannabis vs Alcohol: Why Beer Drinkers Should Light Up With Cannabis As Well!

This is a topic that you may have heard on our show, and one that is near and dear to myself as well.  And I will start by saying this up-front now and explain below: Anyone who is ok with drinking a beer, should also be ok with utilizing cannabis.  You don’t need to smoke it and you can use other forms if you’d like, but unless cannabis is still illegal in your area, you should 100% add it to your recreational activities as well.

This is something I’m more passionate about now than I was years ago, and mainly because I now realize how cannabis would have helped me avoid most or all of the troubles that alcohol would bring my way in my early drinking days.  

To start, the reason why many of us drink is not really due to the great taste of alcohol, but because it makes use feel better…at least for the given length of time that it’s in our system.  I would say that for most people, they may not realize that they’re using alcohol for mental/emotional issues.  Personally, I did understand that I was, I just didn’t care at the time since it appeared to be what was most effective at numbing my anxiety…and the fact that everyone else was doing it too!  When you drink it enough, alcohol starts to taste better, and when you add in company social hours after work, birthday parties and celebratory events that drive you to stock up on it to keep you and your guests happy throughout the event…you eventually just don’t really notice how much drinking may be impacting a big part of your productivity.  

Again, this didn’t bother me since alcohol appeared to be very effective for both making me happy, not caring about my worries for the night, and also is available on every corner in NYC at almost any hour of the day, further normalizing the practice. For the most part, alcohol seemed to keep me social and active, allowed me to build networking opportunities with my colleagues by creating fantastic happy hour memories, etc.  It was everything that I actually expected out of a life from a young professional, so I naturally bought into the idea and jumped hook, line, and sinker into indulging as well.  

For the quick and legal euphoric swings that alcohol can bring, it can also be an incredible hamper to your well-being and overall productivity.  Alcohol causes you to forget what you did, and not understand what you are doing while you are doing it.  It can decrease your stress and anxiety all while you may be in the middle of something that can be seriously ruining your life.  You see people all of the time drink one-too-many and lose their careers, family, etc.  You lose control of your actions, and you no longer are living a conscious moment when you’re drinking, and that’s the problem AND the point.  

We all want to be in social situations where we are feeling our best and on-top of our game …while keeping our sanity at the same time as well.  This is what I found cannabis can assist us with…but it several different ways.  

For myself, I found that cannabis, and more specifically high-CBD cannabis, has been the only option that has allowed me to continue drinking without going off the rails.  In the past I’ve tried prescription medications, and although they stopped me from binge-drinking, I felt horrible a few days later since my endorphins were depleted…so it wasn’t something that I wanted to continue utilzing as it didn’t feel right.  

I’ve found that since cannabis assists with balancing your system in all respects (mainly high CBD cannabis), that it has also done a nice job with my cravings as well.  High-CBD is not psychoactive, but will definitely assist with general mental/physical relaxation, and from my experience, is more effective at doing that than alcohol is.  When you’re not stressed or anxious, you think clearer and you simply are content and don’t need anything more, including another drink (unless it’s a flavored water!!)….and that’s just how it works!  By taking a high-CBD tablet before indulging in your next happy hour (when it happens again!), you may not only find that your drinking will slow down as I did, but that since you are relieving even more anxiety now, your overall drinking experience is more enjoyable as well.

I typically now will always utilize high-CBD before drinking for this reason.  Since doing that…I’ve never once have had an issue with over-indulging with alcohol, and my next day is MUCH better as well!   I.e.- I no longer “blackout” when I drink….YAY!!! 

Furthermore…you have more nighttime options with cannabis that you don’t have with alcohol…why? TERPENES!!!!  If I want to go the club and be amazingly peppy and crushing the dance party…BOOM!!! I’m going with a high-energy THC sativa for the night (but I’m still adding my CBD base via tablet as well!).  If I’m going to a bar to chill with friends, I’m still taking the hybrid sativa-dominant high-THC vape with me to sustain lively conversation throughout the night, but still with a bit of indica-chillness, just good energy. If I’m heading to dinner, I want to taste my food more and have a bit more of an appetite, so a hybrid with both sativa and indica effects can do the trick with that.  And if I’m at home and just want to “Netflix and chill”….an indica-leaning hybrid is the way to go for me.  

For the most part when operating this way, I only drink at most ~2-3 drinks in a 4-6 hour timeframe…when I used to drink in the past, it would be somewhere in the double-digits in the same timeframe.  By utilizing cannabis, I’ve saved a ton of money and have way better nights out that I can actually remember…along with even better mornings!  

So as I’ve said in the beginning…if you’re the type of person who lives in a cannabis-friendly state and you’re on the fence with trying cannabis itself, but will totally sit down with your buddies and have a beer at nights/weekends…it’s time to elevate your life and grab some cannabis as well…and when YOUR life improves because of it, those positive benefits have a trickle-effect that will travel farther than your social circle…and when EVERYONE who drinks in legal cannabis states starts adding a little high-CBD before their nights out….I think eventually we’ll have a better place to live for everyone!  So that’s the point!  Stop being a bottleneck in making the world a better place, and pick up some cannabis the next time you hit the bar scene!!! ☺️😎☺️😎