Considering the cannabis referendum is slowly approaching, I thought I'd share some actual information about the substance in question versus alcohol. Is it better than cannabis, or is it the other way around? It's a debate that's gone on for decades all around the world.

Generally speaking, cannabis tends to come with fewer risks than alcohol, but there are a lot of factors to consider.

We know much more about alcohol than we do about cannabis. There's still a lack of large, long-term scientific studies.

Cannabis can appear to be safer than alcohol simply because we aren't yet aware of certain risks.

The way you consume cannabis can have a big impact on its short and long-term effects on your body. For example, smoking can be rough on your lungs, but this risk doesn't apply to edibles.

Reactions to cannabis and alcohol differ from person to person.

For example, one person may have a lower tolerance for cannabis and be able to tolerate alcohol well while another person may not have any issues with misusing alcohol but still find it hard to function without cannabis. Cannabis has been proven to be significantly less addictive than alcohol and coffee by at least 114 per cent.

While being intoxicated with cannabis feels different than being intoxicated with alcohol, the two have roughly the same effect on your cognitive abilities, reflexes, and judgment.

When consumed heavily or over a long period of time, alcohol can have several long-term effects just like cannabis.

On the surface, cannabis appears to be safer, but there's just not enough evidence to declare a winner. Bottom line is before we can discover the answer we need to do more research and for that to happen we need to give it a chance. ”

J Manson, Waihi