Smoke and Mirrors: Does Coffee Minimize the Effects of Cannabis?

While coffee and cannabis may sound like a perfect duo in states where marijuana has been legalized, they might be better enjoyed separately. According to recent research, coffee can potentially negate the effects of cannabis.

Such a statement would make sense from a logical standpoint; coffee is a stimulant while cannabis is a depressant. That isn’t the sole reason why coffee cancels out the effects of marijuana, however.

The study, performed by university assistant professor Marilyn Cornelis and her team, found that coffee affected 115 metabolites in the blood upon consumption.

Some of those metabolites have unknown purposes, but one affected type, in particular, got the team’s attention.

The metabolites known as endocannabinoids bind to cannabinoid receptors all over the body. The joining of the metabolite to the receptor is what produces the “high” feeling when you use cannabis.

However, Cornelis and her team found a decreased number of endocannabinoid metabolites in the blood of subjects who drank four to eight cups of coffee a day. The decreased number of endocannabinoids results in fewer bindings to cannabinoid receptors in the body, thus decreasing the effect of cannabis.

Cornelis believes that the results could imply other findings, though. She made a statement to LiveScience about her alternative interpretation.

“The same endocannabinoids that declined with coffee also decrease when the body is under stress. It’s possible that the amount of coffee that participants were drinking (four to eight cups a day) caused stress, which led to a drop of endocannabinoid levels as some kind of protective measure”

So it could be that stress is what caused the decline of the number of endocannabinoid metabolites, but that in itself seems to be a backward statement. Typically, marijuana can be used as a stress reliever and makes the claim that stress reduces the effects of cannabis somewhat hard to swallow (or smoke).

New studies are being conducted every day about coffee and cannabis in both separate and conjoined studies. A recent study found that drinking three to five cups of coffee daily can aid in the prevention of cognitive degeneration due to aging, which can lead to a 65% reduction of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It’s also known that medicinal marijuana helps in pain management for many ailments and diseases. So it’s no surprise that people are scrutinizing just how these two components interact with one another.

As these studies are continuously being performed and new pieces of information are being gathered, understanding how both of these elements work and how to manipulate their effects is inevitable. People have already begun creating coffee infused with cannabis, which will bring about an entirely new area of study.