Does Cannabis Reduce Alcohol Consumption? A New Study Explores the Topic

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A new study from Brown University indicates that cannabis use may temporarily reduce alcohol consumption, offering new insights into how these substances interact.

Published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the research is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial to examine whether cannabis use directly affects alcohol intake. Previous studies largely relied on surveys or self-reported behavior, making it difficult to determine cause and effect.

The trial involved 157 adults, ages 21 to 44, who reported heavy drinking and regular cannabis use. Over three lab visits, participants smoked cannabis with either low or high levels of THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, or a placebo. After smoking, they completed the Alcohol Choice Task — a lab test simulating a bar environment where they could choose to drink their preferred alcoholic beverage or earn small cash rewards for declining drinks.

Results showed that participants who used cannabis with active THC consumed less alcohol than those who received a placebo. With the lower THC dose (3.1%), participants drank about 19% less, while the higher dose (7.2%) led to a 27% reduction. Participants also reported weaker immediate urges to drink and delayed their first alcoholic sip when using THC.

“These findings suggest that cannabis may reduce the urge to drink in the moment,” said Jane Metrik, a professor of behavioral and social sciences and of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University. “However, we don’t yet know how these effects play out over the long term.”

The researchers cautioned that these results do not imply cannabis should be used as a therapeutic substitute for alcohol. Cannabis itself carries risks of addiction, and patterns of use in real-world social settings may differ from controlled lab conditions. The team is conducting further research to understand how combining alcohol and cannabis — or using different cannabinoids like THC and CBD — affects drinking behavior.

Excessive drinking remains a major public health issue, ranking as the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and costing an estimated $249 billion annually in lost productivity, health care costs, and other damages. Understanding interactions between substances could help inform future prevention and treatment strategies.

“Our job as researchers is to continue exploring these questions,” Metrik said. “At this stage, we can’t recommend cannabis as a replacement for alcohol, but these findings provide an important first step in understanding how the substances influence each other.”

The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA024091).

Cannabis at a Crossroads

The cannabis industry has been in the news a lot lately, as the bill passed to reopen the government included legislation to ban hemp-derived THC products nationwide — a major threat to the $28 billion industry. Joe Rogan recently blamed the alcohol industry for the fight against cannabis, but as we broke down in our coverage, the truth is a bit more complicated than that, as much of the alcohol industry is certainly more interested in capitalizing on and investing in the THC industry than killing it.

For more on that subject, read our article, “Hemp in Danger: Who Stands to Gain as 2026 Ban Threatens a $28 Billion Industry?”