Nearly a century after the release of “Reefer Madness” helped fuel mass hysteria over cannabis usage, marijuana is enjoying a renaissance in Canada . Since its legalization in 2018, a growing slice of Canadians , especially younger adults, have reported regular use of the substance as legal sales continue to surge. This comes as Canadians cut back on their alcohol purchases in recent years, data suggest.
When confronted with the risk factors associated with alcohol , which can include heightened cancer risk and organ failure, cannabis may seem mild in comparison. But experts warn the health complications from weed use can manifest in different and surprising ways — and there’s still much we don’t know about the drug. “We know very well the risks and harms of alcohol,” Dr.
Leslie Buckley, chief of the Addictions Division at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), told the Star. “But because cannabis is so much more understudied, we don’t know those risks as well.” We asked addiction experts to compare the two drugs.
Here’s what they said. How weed can affect your health Much like alcohol, the health risks of cannabis use depend on how much and how frequently we use — especially if we smoke it. “Generally speaking, the more someone uses, the greater the risk,” explained Dr.
Aristotle Voineskos, vice-president of the University Health Network-CAMH Partnership. But while chronic alcohol usage can lead to serious physiological harms, .
