Dr. Alexander Caudarella
CEO, CCSA
Explore how changing your relationship with alcohol and cannabis can enhance your life.
Canadian summers are short, and people tend to make the most of them. Along with the hot weather and time outdoors, summer culture sometimes includes alcohol or cannabis. It’s important to understand that, like many things in life, drinking alcohol and consuming cannabis are not without risk. For both alcohol and cannabis, the health risks involved go up the more you consume. For example, consuming more than six standard drinks per week puts you at increasingly high risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Even drinking more than two per week starts to increase the risk of developing cancer. Regular cannabis use, meanwhile, can impair memory, disrupt work or school, exacerbate mental health issues, and heighten the risk of psychosis.
Understand the facts
How much is too much? First, it’s important to keep track of how much you use. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) offers practical guides like Knowing Your Limits with Alcohol and Knowing Your Limits with Cannabis for assessing your use.
If you decide you’d like to consider cutting down on drinking or cannabis use, know that many health and social benefits can result. “Research has evolved to help us better understand how people in Canada are consuming alcohol and cannabis, as well as the related increased health risks. Stopping isn’t always necessary but reducing consumption lowers those risks and can improve your interpersonal relationships and benefit your mental health,” says Dr. Alexander Caudarella, a family physician with specialty training in substance use health issues and CEO of the CCSA. “And every little bit counts — even small decreases will have a positive influence on your health over time.”
Seeking support
If you’re ready to put yourself in the driver’s seat and to reset your health habits as the long days of summer start getting shorter, you don’t have to do it alone. There are tools and tips to support you.
There are a variety of proven resources and tools to help people make informed decisions about their alcohol and cannabis use. The website drinklesslivemore.ca — Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health — is a great place to start.
“People want to know what they’re consuming and what the potential risks are to be empowered to make their own decisions,” says Dr. Caudarella. “Everyone can start somewhere to reduce the risks. Options including setting limits for yourself, drinking lots of water, eating before and while you’re drinking, and having alcohol-free weeks or doing alcohol-free activities. There have never been more Canadian-crafted options containing reduced or no alcohol.”
When it comes to reducing cannabis use, Dr. Caudarella recommends not only lowering the quantity and frequency of use but also choosing products with lower THC content. Other tips include planning ahead, avoiding people or places that lead you to use cannabis more than you want to, finding fun in other ways, and pacing yourself.
If you suspect that you may have trouble with your alcohol consumption or cannabis use, speak to a qualified health care provider and find out how to get help with substance use.
Visit ccsa.ca for more tips, tools, and support.
