Which is safer, cannabis or alcohol? It is a debate that has raged on for ages, with all sorts of research to support both sides of the subject. And it’s a question many people have asked themselves. People over the age of twenty-one can now recreationally use both, so many ask this question. Accommodations owners who are considering allowing marijuana to be smoked on their property might be interested in learning the difference here.

Supporters of the decriminalization of marijuana insist that alcohol is far more harmful of a substance than weed. Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), a non-profit organization based out of Colorado lobbies heavily in favor of marijuana over alcohol consumption. SAFER’s primary objective, according to their website, is “to educate the public about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol.”

Also according to information found on the SAFER website, cannabis trumps alcohol in the safety department for the following reasons:

Nobody has ever died from marijuana use directly. Conversely, people die to the tune of 37,000 per year due to alcohol abuse.

Alcohol overdose is a common factor in alcohol related deaths. Cannabis has never been linked to overdose of any kind. In fact, one cannot overdose on cannabis because it does not have an affect on the parts of the brain that control breathing and heart rate. 

Those who drink alcohol are more prone to violence and violent crimes than a cannabis user. This is indisputable; who ever started a fight after getting stoned?

NBC News also reports that scientific evidence suggests that weed is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco combined. This special study compared marijuana with several lethal substances other than alcohol and came out as the safest of them all. These research findings could directly affect the way that marijuana is viewed in the legal system. Ultimately, lawmakers are now considering changing the schedule class of the drug to reflect these new findings.

Volumes of research studies discussing the cannabis versus alcohol question are available through the Marijuana Policy Project. Even former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief administrative law judge Francis Young said it himself back in 1988:

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response.” That’s pretty interesting! And it means that it is physically impossible to eat enough cannabis to induce death. Weed is safer than potatoes!

Taking this information into account, several members of the 420-friendly travel and recreation industries now choose to welcome cannabis consumers with open arms. In fact, some owners of marijuana-friendly travel accommodations have outright expressed their own experience of the very real differences between alcohol and ganja consumption.

Dave Powers, a 35-year veteran of the hotel/hospitality industry says that “It attracts a different crowd. They [marijuana users] don’t make noise, they don’t throw Jack Daniels bottles through the walls.” 

So is cannabis safer than alcohol? It seems that many agree that it is. As science begins to reveal just how stark a difference between the two are; it will soon be like comparing apples to oranges. That means that as far as tourism and Bud and Breakfast travel accommodations are concerned, cannabis may well be an easier recreational drug to manage than alcohol.