First, we’ll skip the obvious reasons why people prefer marijuana to alcohol, which is that marijuana provides a ton more products than alcohol.

Sure, you can buy many different types of alcohol, from wine and beer to vodka and tequila, but you can do the same with the wide variety of available marijuana strains. Additionally, cannabis-derived products include oils, lotions and food. Lots and lots of food.

Also, mints, dog treats, tinctures and even aromatherapy products.

Marijuana To Alcohol Preferences

The reasons why people prefer marijuana to alcohol listed below don’t have anything to do with any of that. Increasingly, people are turning to marijuana for relaxation and entertainment rather than alcohol. As legalization has spread to more places around the country – about 60 percent of the country’s population in 2018 will live where some form of marijuana is legal – even more people will face this decision.

So why are people turning to marijuana rather than alcohol? Here are five reasons.

Hangover

Go overboard with the drinks on any given night, and you will certainly pay the next day. This is especially true as people get older – by that, we mean just the early 30s. By then, the ability to bounce back from a night of heavy drinking gets increasingly difficult. And by your 40s you just feel silly. Marijuana, on the other hand, does not result in a hangover. At the worst, you might feel a bit drowsy – but you also probably got a much better night sleep than you would intoxicated.

It’s Medicine

When’s the last time your doctor prescribed alcohol to treat your chronic pain or nausea? Yes, never. On the other hand, those are two areas where marijuana is actually prescribed, not to mention a host of other medical conditions. While studies are ongoing into the effects of cannabis, the fact doctors can and do prescribe it immediately elevates it above alcohol.

Better Mood

Let’s be honest: alcohol can lead to some of the worst fights you’ve ever seen in your life. There’s a reason bar brawls are a cinema staple. They happen every night, somewhere, when people drink too much. Not to mention the verbal altercations it causes between boyfriends and girlfriends, man and wife, best friend and best friend, etc. You get the picture. On the other hand, marijuana typically leads to one of the best conversations you have ever had about the roots of existentialism or post-modernism in art. Or maybe just how funny that commercial was that just came on. In any case, anger and violence is typically not part of the equation.

Relaxation

You walk through the door after a long day at work, kick off your shoes and poor a glass of wine. That’s the classic scenario, and there’s no doubt a glass of wine can help a person relax. But four glasses of wine? Maybe not so much and good luck getting a good night’s sleep. With marijuana, the right kind strain (typically indica) will chill you out very fast, and you’ll sleep like a baby. And not the fussy kind.

Laughter

It’s a bummer world out there. Family brings drama, friends can get annoying and don’t even turn on the news if you hope to laugh anytime soon. Marijuana loosens inhibitions and can lead to great gales of gut-busting laughter. That’s a good thing, as studies have shown the power of laughter in combatting stress and anxiety. Alcohol, as you may well know, is a depressant.

Do you have to choose between the two? Of course not. But the next time you read about how marijuana is gaining in popularity with people across all social and economic spectrums of society, the above provides a little insight into the reasons why.