Scientists: Pot Drinks May Be 'Harm Reduction' for Alcohol

Swapping your IPA for a THC seltzer might do more than change your buzz. A small new study suggests cannabis-infused drinks could help some people cut back on alcohol. Public health researchers from the University at Buffalo surveyed 438 adults who say they'd used cannabis in the past year; about one-third reported drinking cannabis beverages, per a release. Those drinkers were more likely to say they used cannabis as a stand-in for alcohol than people who used other cannabis products (about 59% versus 47%). On average, they reported cutting their weekly alcohol intake by more than half after adding cannabis drinks—from about seven alcoholic beverages a week to just over three—and said they binged booze less often.

Lead author Jessica Kruger calls the work the first to look specifically at cannabis beverages as an alcohol "harm reduction" tool—an approach that aims to lower health risks among people who continue to use legal substances rather than quit entirely. Alcohol is tied to at least seven cancers and almost 200 health conditions, the researchers note; cannabis, meanwhile, generally carries lower health risks than heavy drinking, though it's not risk-free. Kruger stresses that cannabis beverages are still new, and that it'll take time before this kind of substitution is considered mainstream.

Co-author Daniel Kruger says the larger alcohol reductions reported by cannabis beverage users may stem from how closely the products mimic alcohol in setting and style: They usually come in cans, are consumed socially, and give people "a drink in their hand" at bars and parties. Nearly 63% of cannabis beverage users said they reduced or quit alcohol after starting the drinks, while a small minority—about 3%—reported drinking more. The study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, is limited by its modest size and self-reported data, and the team plans longer-term research comparing different forms of cannabis use as both legalization and the cannabis drink market—projected to top $4 billion by 2028—continue to grow.