Frequent Marijuana Use Is Tied To Lower Risk Of Liver Disease From Alcohol, New Study Finds

Frequent use of marijuana is associated with a reduced risk of developing liver disease from alcohol, according to a new study. In fact, people who meet the criteria for “cannabis use disorder,” or CUD, showed lower risk compared to both infrequent cannabis users and those who don’t consume marijuana at all.

The novel study, published this week in the journal Liver International, analyzed rates of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) among 66,228 patients from 2010 to 2022. A team led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University put patients into one of three categories: those with CUD who are clinically defined as being dependent on marijuana, infrequent cannabis users (CU) and non-users.

“In this propensity-matched cohort study of patients with AUD, cannabis use was associated with a reduced risk of ALD, with the greatest risk reduction seen in patients with CUD compared to CU and non-CU,” the study says. “Our findings suggest that modulation of cannabinoid receptors may offer a new target for the development of pharmacological therapies for ALD.”

“Cannabis use was linked to lower risks of ALD, liver-related complications and death compared to non-cannabis users.”

Based on previous research focusing on CBD, the study authors theorized that the non-intoxicating cannabinoid could be a driving force behind this medical association—though “its clinical use remains limited.”

After adjusting for various factors, the study findings “suggest the cannabinoid system may represent a promising therapeutic target for ALD,” they said.

Specifically, the researchers found that cannabis use is associated with a “40 percent hazard reduction in the composite ALD, including alcohol-associated steatosis, hepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis, as well as a 17 percent reduction in hepatic decompensation, and a 14 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.”

“The risk reduction was observed across the ALD stages with a gradient of effect between CU and CUD. This pattern may suggest a dose–response relationship, though its interpretation remains uncertain, as it relies on diagnostic codes with no direct measures of cannabis consumption. Furthermore, while our findings suggest a potential protective association between cannabis use and ALD, this must be interpreted with caution, given the well-established health risks of cannabis, including psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and cognitive impairment.”

“The observed protective association [of cannabis] was consistent across the ALD spectrum, even among patients with lower cardiometabolic risk profiles,” it said. “Furthermore, the inclusion of both positive and negative control outcomes strengthens the internal validity of the findings.”

“Given the expanding body of experimental data supporting the hepatoprotective properties of CBD and its favourable safety profile, further studies evaluating its impact in ALD, using appropriate dosing and treatment duration, are both justified and warranted,” the study concluded.

“Based on preclinical evidence, the observed protective effect is possibly attributable to CBD.”

On a related note, a survey published earlier this month found that nearly four in five adults who drink cannabis-infused beverages say they’ve reduced their alcohol intake—and more than a fifth have quit drinking alcohol altogether.

Meanwhile, on the list of activities that Americans say is dangerous for pregnant women to engage in, using marijuana falls below drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes, according to a new poll.

Marijuana use is linked to lower alcohol intake and diminished cravings in heavy drinkers, according to a recent federally funded scientific paper.

In a study earlier this year, scientists at the University of Sydney published a paper investigating the theory that non-intoxicating cannabidiol could mitigate problematic drinking issues. The research, published in the journal British Journal of Pharmacology with funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, found that “CBD represents a promising candidate to reduce voluntary alcohol consumption.”

According to a federally funded study published in the journal Nature earlier this year, CBD has potential to treat alcohol use disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms and lowering the risk of relapse while also providing neuroprotective effects. The results of that study “underscore CBD’s potential therapeutic utility for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and provide mechanistic insights into its actions,” they noted.

This also comes at a time when younger Americans are increasingly using cannabis-infused beverages as a substitute for alcohol—with one in three millennials and Gen Z workers choosing THC drinks over booze for after-work activities like happy hours, according to a new poll of 1,000 young professionals.

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