A new study has found that cannabis use may help individuals who drink heavily to reduce their alcohol consumption. Researchers discovered that, on average, participants consumed approximately 25 per cent fewer alcoholic drinks after using cannabis compared to when they consumed alcohol alone.
The study, conducted by scientists from Colorado State University, the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, is the first to test the effects of legal-market cannabis on alcohol intake in a controlled setting.
“Cannabis use was associated with a reduction in alcohol intake,” the researchers stated in their findings. The study also noted that “for some individuals who drink heavily, cannabis may serve as a substitute for alcohol,” adding that “craving reduction is a potential mechanism through which this could occur.”
For the trial, researchers recruited 61 heavy drinkers who also use cannabis several times a week. Each participant completed two laboratory sessions – one where they consumed alcohol alone, and another where they first used their own legal-market cannabis before drinking. The sessions took place in a mobile laboratory parked outside participants’ homes, a workaround designed to avoid federal restrictions on handling legal cannabis in campus laboratories.
During both sessions, participants received a standard “priming” drink and then had the opportunity to consume up to four additional drinks. When analysing the results, researchers identified 23 participants, termed “substituters,” who drank significantly less after cannabis use and reported consistent decreases in alcohol craving. Another 23 participants, labelled “non-substituters,” drank the same amount or more and showed little change in craving, while 15 participants abstained from drinking altogether during both sessions.
“Those who drank less after cannabis reported greater decreases in alcohol craving,” the researchers noted. They also found that “self-administering cannabis before alcohol significantly reduced alcohol consumption compared to when alcohol was offered without cannabis.”
While the results are promising, the authors acknowledged limitations to the study. They noted that cannabis was always consumed before alcohol, meaning the reverse order was not tested. Additionally, the mobile laboratory environment may not replicate real-world drinking settings, and the sample was not broadly representative, comprising mostly white and male subjects.
The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, joins a growing body of research examining cannabis as a potential tool for reducing problematic alcohol consumption.
In early 2025, a study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology stated that CBD (cannabidiol) “represents a promising candidate to reduce voluntary alcohol consumption.” The placebo-controlled study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, found that a single 800mg dose of CBD was effective in reducing alcohol cravings.
The research findings are particularly relevant in the UK, where alcohol abuse poses a significant public health challenge. In 2023, there were 22,644 alcohol-related deaths in England, representing a 21.3 per cent increase since 2016. Alcohol-related hospital admissions reached their highest recorded rates in 2023–2024, with over 339,000 alcohol-specific admissions recorded.
Alcohol remains the leading risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15 to 49 year olds in the UK. Despite the high burden of alcohol dependence, affecting approximately 589,000 individuals in England, fewer than 20 per cent of alcohol-dependent people access treatment services.
