The scientific term for mixing marijuana and alcohol is polydrug use, although you may know it by another name (“crossfaded” is one we’re familiar with, not personally of course). With our legal marijuana industry, there is no shortage of unique products infused with marijuana. Candy, cookies, mints, chocolates, coffee – and beer. Is it safe to drink beer infused with marijuana, or is that a recipe for disaster?

Why You Shouldn’t Mix Marijuana with Alcohol

Firstly, you are much more likely to suffer the negative effects of alcohol as well as cannabis by combining them. You might open yourself up to the anxiety, panic and paranoia of a green-out by adding alcohol to the mix. Second, your ability to drive will be affected, which could lead to a DUI or a DUI-D. Now, since you’re smoking, we assume you are at a private residence (right guys?), so if need be, you should have a place to crash for the night or to sober up, but both cannabis and alcohol cause impairment and can open you up to DUI.

Additionally, by combining drugs, you open yourself up to potential drug substitution problems. If you are trying to cut back on drinking, for example, but you can’t sleep otherwise, you might taper down the drinking with a little Mary J. Or the other way around. In the end, you find that you can’t go without either. Adding a substance to help quit another is never a good thing.

Those cannabis-infused beers may sound like a good idea – and it’s definitely a very Colorado idea – but as with everything else, moderation is key.

Whether you have been charged with a DUI or a DUI-D, you can protect your freedom by speaking to a DUI defense attorney about your case.