As society became more open and tolerant of marijuana, people became just as fascinated by the medical benefits of CBD (cannabidiol). Unlike THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the element most commonly associated with cannabis, CBD doesn’t affect one’s psychoactive frame of mind. Rather, CBD is primarily used for health, wellness, and relaxation. CBD products include oils, skin creams, lip balms, and even protein bars. 

CBD has also become well-known as a partner with alcohol. But what really happens when you mix the two together, and how does combining CBD and alcohol make for a more relaxing experience? Here are a few reasons you should consider mixing your next drink with CBD.

Can you drink alcohol with CBD

The short answer is, yes. Combining CBD and alcohol is great for social settings and allows the body to enter a state of relaxation. Many people choose to unwind from a hard day’s work with a drink. If relaxation is the goal of that endeavor, a CBD-infused drink has greater potential to increase a relaxed frame of mind.

There are many interesting ways that you or your local bartender can combine CBD and alcohol. In fact, there are a number of recipes that any person can follow to make their own CBD-infused cocktail, or you can simply crack open a CBD-suffused beer.

Use CBD for alcohol hangovers

We’ve all been there at least once before. You have a great night out with friends or loved ones over several drinks. In the morning, you find that the memory is a little blurry, your stomach is nauseous, and your head is pounding from the effects of a bad hangover.

In addition to the physical pain of a hangover, many people find themselves overwhelmed with hangover anxiety, or “hangxiety” the morning after a night of drinking. This is partly due to the impact on your memory as you naturally begin to worry about the result of your actions the night before. As you succumb to an inner sense of panic, your body reacts to these negative feelings with stronger sensations of nausea.

Medically, the symptoms of hangover anxiety are caused by a deficiency of serotonin, which is often reduced as a result of heavy alcohol consumption. However, a dose of CBD can help boost your serotonin by activating the receptors in the brainstem that manage the flow of serotonin throughout your brain. CBD has been a substitute for other medical prescriptions in treating social anxiety in non-alcohol influenced situations; the same can be said for hangover-induced symptoms of anxiousness.

CBD lessens the urge for heavy drinking

Studies are still in preliminary stages, but the preclinical results show that CBD could help lessen the desire for copious amounts of alcohol. Both CBD and alcohol are known to lower inhibitions and, particularly in social situations, relax the mind. 

However, the effects of too much alcohol in a short timespan results in hangovers, severe mental impairment, and the potential for nausea. If a CBD-infused drink can help relax the mind, and also reduce the urge to drink large quantities of alcohol, the combination could have a significant effect on one’s physical and mental well-being.

You can enjoy a social drink without the impulse to have one – or several – too many. The net benefit is that you can avoid the worst effects of a hangover because you’ll feel less desire to overdrink during your night out.

Is CBD safe for recovering alcoholics

Recovering from a serious problem with alcohol is one of the greatest challenges faced by those who choose to get help for their condition. According to many recovering alcoholics, it’s not uncommon to adopt an abstinence mindset, prohibiting yourself from taking any type of substance as treatment for recovery.

However, as perceptions towards marijuana have become more progressive, some recovering alcoholics have embraced CBD as a viable treatment for their recovery. In these instances, CBD has helped mitigate the effects of depression that are associated with recovery. CBD oils have helped patients cope with depression, and there is hope that it can also benefit alcoholics on their own road to more peaceful lifestyles and mental well-beings.

CBD may help protect your liver

Historically, excessive alcohol consumption has damaged people’s physical livelihoods and even increased the potential for chronic medical diseases; most prominently, liver damage or cancer. If consumed in excess, alcohol can damage or even destroy regenerative cells in the liver, which increases the likelihood for liver failure.

Currently, scientists are testing if CBD and alcohol can regenerate liver tissue and cells within mice in the hopes of using those results to launch a test on humans. The process of autophagy, which is the body’s way of cleaning out and regenerating damaged cells, has improved in the mice involved in the preliminary stages of these tests. Should the data continue to show positive signs, the door could open to human tests that could show CBD Oil and alcohol, together, as a means of reducing the likelihood of liver failure.