According to the results of a recent study presented at the Research Society on Alcoholism’s 2025 meeting, alcohol consumption affects cannabis craving differently in young men and women. Specifically, it was found that following any amount of alcohol use, young women experienced less craving for cannabis, in contrast to young men, who experienced more craving for cannabis following any alcohol use.

“National surveys found that in 2002, 20%–21% of young adults, whether college students or not, reported past year co-use of alcohol and cannabis,” said Dr. Nolan Ramer, postdoctoral fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina, in his interview with Medical Xpress. “By 2018, 25%–26% of this group reported past year co-use of alcohol and cannabis. This increase is worrisome because, with frequent pairings, use of one substance may become a conditioned cue for use of a second, commonly co-used substance.”

It was also found that men and women crave cannabis differently after drinking alcohol, since women tend to crave it less, while men crave it more. This suggests women may use alcohol as a substitute, while men use both together. Dr. Ramer noted that these differences could help improve gender-specific approaches to treatment and relapse prevention. “Finding that young men and women may differ in how much they crave cannabis after drinking alcohol could help us understand differences in co-use between men and women,” he said. “The effects of use of one substance on craving for another may have implications for treating substance use disorders and preventing relapse.”

These findings are consistent with previous research that found sex differences in cannabis self-administration in a laboratory setting. Furthermore, the results indicate that young women are more likely to experience substitution effects, since alcohol use may reduce their craving for cannabis, whereas men are more likely to use the two substances together, with alcohol use increasing their craving for cannabis.

Dr. Ramer pointed out that these findings have important implications for addiction treatment. “When a particular policy or treatment reduces the use of one substance like alcohol, we should consider how that might affect the use or craving of another substance like cannabis,” he said. “Co-use of substances is so common that looking at one substance in isolation could miss the bigger picture. Additionally, men and women may respond differently to reductions in access to or use of alcohol.”