What happens to our bodies when we get drunk and smoke cannabis at the same time? Studies show that the consumption of alcohol at the same time with marijuana, increases the level of THC in the body up to twice!

The effects in the mind of alcohol and cannabis - each in its own - has been extensively explored.
But the combined effect when the two materials are taken at the same time, it is a scientific area that rarely questioned.

So here's a look at what we know about how cannabis and alcohol affect the brain together:

First, the basics: Cannabis contains THC, a component of psychoactive effect which affects the cannabinoid receptors which existed in the brain.
On the other hand, alcohol depressing the central nervous system.
"Trying to compare the two it's not even like comparing apples with oranges", said Gary Wenk, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Ohio State University.
"It's apples and vegetables. They are very different drugs."
THC has primarily cognitive effects, such as loss of the time, while alcohol affects mainly the motor capabilities, making it hard to walk in a straight line, for example, or cause slurred speech.\


Alcohol increases the level of THC

So is a combination of cannabis and alcohol simply combines together the unique effects of each drug? Not exactly, says Scott Lucas, a teacher at Harvard Medical School, who studies the interactions between a variety of drugs.

In a study published in 2001, found Lucas that among experimenters who smoked cannabis and drank a large amount of alcohol,  THC blood levels almost doubled, compared to people who smoked cannabis and drank a placebo beverage.

The drunks experimenters in the study also rated themselves they felt the effects of cannabis before who only smoked, this fact points to alcohol as a factor that increases the amount of THC that reaches the brain through the bloodstream, soon after drinking.
Another explanation for the finding suggests that alcohol may cause changes in the blood vessels, which increases the absorption of THC inhaled into the lungs.

Lucas is not worried about a combination of the two, but he also points out that the two drugs may be more dangerous than drinking or smoking alone.
With more THC affects the brain due to ethanol existed in alcoholic drinks, the usual effects of cannabis -  like poor perception of reality and increased heart rate - stronger, and by Lucas, increase the risk of traffic accidents and drowning, for example.

Lucas added that the drug amounts approved for use in the study were lower than people usually consume during recreation.

Recently, a study from the University of Duke, found that when mice were influence of ethanol and THC together,  the mice were less curious to their environment than those who were under the influence of only one material.
The same study also found that in adult mice that received a combination of ethanol and THC were more impaired memory for new objects compared to adult mice that received each drug separately.

In another study conducted by Professor Gary Wenk, published earlier this year (2014) found that the use of marijuana in small doses inhibits the development of Dementia and Alzheimer
"If you smoke some marijuana in the 20s and 30s in your life you may completely delete all traces of infections in your mind and then things start to be renewed again and again he said in an interview.
"In the end you will probably die of old age before the inflammation be a problem for you."