What do you say to “Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol”?

The claim “Cannabis is surely less harmful than alcohol” cannot be settled with a single comparison. Both substances carry risks, and the question of which one is bigger often leads nowhere in the family. More important is what happens when both come together, because their effects can then reinforce each other.

Why the comparison comes up so often

Your child has probably heard this sentence before. It comes from conversations with friends, from videos and from the debate about legalisation. Often the thinking behind it is that a legal everyday intoxicant that adults drink cannot be more dangerous than a drug. Take this idea seriously and do not dismiss it with a slogan.

Why a pure comparison helps little

A comparison of which substance is more harmful does little good in everyday life. People use different amounts, in different situations and with different pre-existing conditions. For young people, the BIÖG also rates the risks of cannabis as particularly high, because the young brain is in an important stage of development. The question that matters for your child is therefore more likely this: what happens when it takes both together, and how does that affect its body, its concentration and its decisions?

What is established about mixed use

The prevention services describe the combination of cannabis and alcohol clearly:

• Circulation and stomach: Cannabis and alcohol together put a heavy strain on the circulation and often lead to nausea and vomiting (BIÖG, prevention page for parents).
• Overestimating oneself: Alcohol leads people to overestimate themselves (feel-ok.ch).
• Reinforcement: The effects of individual drugs can reinforce each other. Using ecstasy as an example, the prevention page shows that THC leaves the effect in place and places an additional load on the body.
• Concentration and reaction: Both substances have negative effects on concentration and reaction ability.

No argument in favour of the combination follows from this. That is the core of the answer you can give your child.

What applies in road traffic

Driving has clear limits that your child should know before it gets its driving licence:

• Alcohol: the limit is 0.5 per mille blood alcohol (section 24a(1) StVG).
• Cannabis: anyone who drives with 3.5 nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood serum or more commits an administrative offence (section 24a(1a) StVG). For under-21s and during the probationary period, the BIÖG states that there is a complete ban on cannabis in road traffic.
• Mixed use: anyone who drives with 3.5 nanograms of THC or more and also consumes an alcoholic drink, or is under the influence of one, commits a separate administrative offence (section 24a(2a) StVG). According to the BIÖG, taking part in road traffic with mixed use of alcohol and cannabis is completely prohibited.
• Anyone fined under these provisions generally also has a driving ban imposed (section 25(1) StVG).

The amount of the fines is set out in the law. If you need the details, you will find them in the wording of section 24a StVG or at a counselling service. You can find more on limits in traffic in the topic area Road traffic.

What a factual answer sounds like

An answer that takes your child seriously acknowledges the point and then names the risks:

“You are right that alcohol is socially accepted. Even so, both substances are risky. Together they can have a stronger effect, and that is the part I want to protect you from. Let's talk properly about what you hear from friends.”

It is important that you do not pretend to know everything. If you cannot answer a question, say so and look it up together.

Typical mistakes

• The comparison as a weapon: Anyone who says “But you drink too” loses the discussion about cannabis and starts one about hypocrisy.
• The full stop: “It is all dangerous, end of story” comes across as refusal and stops the child from asking further questions.
• The equating: Cannabis and alcohol are different. Anyone who puts them on the same level loses credibility.

Role model in everyday life

Your child watches how you yourself deal with alcohol and cannabis. If you regularly reach for alcohol at home to switch off, and at the same time forbid your child cannabis, you create a contradiction the child will quickly notice. You may still have a glass yourself. What matters is that you can openly say how you handle it and why a different rule applies to your child.

Celebrations are also a point for clear agreements. If alcohol is served at family parties, it is worth agreeing beforehand who drives that evening and who brings the child home. Such agreements move the subject from theory into everyday life.

What parents can concretely do

1. Ask your child where the sentence comes from and what it thinks itself.
2. Name the risks of the combination as well as the risks of each substance on its own.
3. Say clearly that you do not find mixed use acceptable, and why.
4. Agree that your child can call you if it is unsure in a situation, for example if someone wants to drive after using.

Where to get help

If your child is already combining use with alcohol, professional counselling makes sense. You can reach the Sucht & Drogen Hotline on 01806 313031. For parents there is also the Elterntelefon (parent helpline) of Nummer gegen Kummer on 0800 111 0 550. The article What happens when cannabis and alcohol are used together? also shows how to handle health questions.