--- description: A new study says that consuming alcohol with cannabis leads to a far higher blood concentration of THC than if cannabis was smoked alone. title: Mixing Booze and Pot Spikes Blood Concentrations of THC image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e87f6588f5b19ae/698851fd06f2c1d82833a612/gettyimages-183842907.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mixing Booze and Pot Greatly Increases the Amount of THC in Your Blood ## Video: Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids [Watch (HLS stream): Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6Ic4KUCK.m3u8) (16:16)  _Published 2014-10-21. The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. A look inside the quasi-legal, science free world of medical marijuana for children from TIME's Red Border Films_ by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2015 9:51 AM CUT  Cannabis plant Cannabis plantWIN-Initiative—Getty Images/WIN-Initiative RM by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2015 9:51 AM CUT Although marijuana and alcohol are frequently used together, there has been little research into how the two substances react. A new study [reported on](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150527112728.htm "undefined") in Science Daily, however, shows that when they are mixed the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — marijuana’s active ingredient — in a person’s blood is far higher than if marijuana is smoked on its own. Because the combination of alcohol and cannabis is the most common one detected in car accidents, the research looked at the two drugs from the point of view of vehicle safety. Scientists examined 19 people drinking alcohol, or a placebo, in low doses ten minutes before inhaling vaporized cannabis in either a low or high dose. When alcohol was consumed, a far higher blood concentration of THC emerged. When the two drugs were taken together, researchers concluded that the possibility of vehicular crashes increased considerably than if only one drug was taken, Science Daily reports. “The significantly higher blood THC … values with alcohol possibly explain increased performance impairment observed from cannabis-alcohol combinations,” said lead researcher Dr. Marilyn A. Huestis. Researchers hope the information will create better drug-related driving legislation. \[[_Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150527112728.htm "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3899426/cannabis-alcohol-thc-car-crash-drug-safety-driving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3899426/cannabis-alcohol-thc-car-crash-drug-safety-driving/"},"headline":"Mixing Booze and Pot Greatly Increases the Amount of THC in Your Blood","datePublished":"2015-05-28T09:51:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:41:22.881Z","description":"That poses serious questions for road safety","url":"https://time.com/3899426/cannabis-alcohol-thc-car-crash-drug-safety-driving/","keywords":["Research","Alcohol","health","cannabis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e87f6588f5b19ae/698851fd06f2c1d82833a612/gettyimages-183842907.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e87f6588f5b19ae/698851fd06f2c1d82833a612/gettyimages-183842907.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cannabis","caption":"Cannabis","creditText":"WIN-Initiative—Getty Images/WIN-Initiative RM","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3899426/cannabis-alcohol-thc-car-crash-drug-safety-driving/","name":"Mixing Booze and Pot Greatly Increases the Amount of THC in Your Blood"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids","description":"The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. 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