Forbes Mexico.
Cannabis against alcohol: Chronicle of a historical injustice
In Mexico, as in most of the world, cannabis has been the subject of a relentless prohibition that has been persists for almost a century. However, alcohol enjoys full social acceptance and free trade. That double speech is not only obsolete, but detrimental: statistics and scientific advances begin to expose it.
Alcohol is the cause of 15 % of annual deaths in Mexico, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) of January 2025: more than 42,000 people die every year due to alcohol -related diseases, such as cirrhosis, fetal syndromes and mental disorders.
At the road accident level, 70 % of deaths between drivers are attributable to alcohol. Additionally, 19.1 % of adults report excessive consumption in the last month (with 40 % peaks in twelve months), and 20.6 % of adolescents eat alcohol at least once a year. In parallel, the WHO figure in 7.2 liters per year per capita consumption in Mexico, similar to the average of the region. The implications are not minor: alcohol is responsible for much of the charge of disease and disability in young adults, and its unequal effect attacks the most vulnerable segments stronger.
Unlike alcohol, cannabis presents a considerably lower risk profile. It is not associated with fatal acute poisoning. Even if there are damage, for example, cardiovascular or dependency risk, in general they are less lethal than alcohol.
But cannabis goes beyond lower damage: recent investigations reveal that components such as cannabidiol (CBD) could be tools to combat harmful consumption of alcohol. A study in mice of the University of Sydney showed that the administration of CBD significantly reduced the episodes of excessive alcohol intake, without sedative effects on locomotion.
In humans, the Ionic clinical trial revealed that an 800 mg dose of CBD reduces cravings and activation of the Accumbens nucleus (brain reward center) in people with alcohol consumption disorder.
Complementary studies in animal models show that the CBD protects the liver against alcohol -induced damage and reduces neuronal death in contexts of excessive consumption.
Absurd contradiction: On the one hand, we allow mass access to alcohol that kills tens of thousands and sick to millions. On the other, we keep a plant that can safeguard lives and reduce damage.
This contradiction is not only scientific, it is also political and economic. Cannabis regulation would open opportunities for the Mexican countryside: industrial hemp can become ecological and profitable rotary culture for small producers, while diversifying the country’s agroindustrial matrix, today dependent on traditional crops.
From cannabis associations, we promote a regulation that integrates cannabis in damage reduction strategies, facilitates its therapeutic use, particularly CBD, in the treatment of alcoholism, and detone economic development in marginalized regions through agricultural diversification.
Cannabis is not the elixir for all evils, but it is part of the solution: an informed, modern, human and economically viable solution. While alcohol remains socialized, lethal and normalized, keeping cannabis in illegality is not only unjustifiable: it is a negligence that puts public health at risk and slows rural development.
It is time to act clearly: regulating cannabis is an act of social justice and public health. No more surroundings: legislation must be updated with science, and with society that demands it.
About the author:
Twitter: @anicannmx
http://www.anicann.org/
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Cannabis against alcohol: Chronicle of a historical injustice
Guillermo Nieto
