By Luke Sumpter


Bud and booze are like chalk and cheese. The two substances produce very different effects, to the degree that they often divide people into opposing camps; purists that indulge in one while knocking the other. Those with a love for the herb cherish the introspective effects that lend themselves to solo or small group situations, whereas drinkers prefer the confidence-boosting effects of beer, wine, and hard liquor, best enjoyed in a lively bar or pub.

However, there are those that traverse the ravine between alcohol and weed. While some end up slipping into the crevasse of blackouts and vomiting, others are able to enjoy the best of both worlds upon mastering the art of crossfading.

Below, you’ll discover everything you need to know about getting drunk and high together. Find out how alcohol amplifies the effects of cannabis, in which order to take both substances, and how to handle a bad reaction to this controversial mix.

What Is Crossfading?

The term “crossfading” describes the overlapping effects of multiple substances taken at the same time. Although the word sometimes refers to combinations of other drugs, it’s mostly used in the context of mixing cannabis and alcohol. Chances are you’ve experienced this state of consciousness before, or at least know someone who has.

But why would somebody choose to crossfade to begin with? Aren’t the isolated effects of weed and booze enough to have a good time? Well, booze dramatically enhances the intoxicating effects of cannabis and further helps to dampen inhibition and self-consciousness. However, as you may know, crossfading requires a delicate approach. If you go overboard with either substance, even slightly, you’ll put an end to your night before it even starts.

An interesting survey published in the journal Cannabis in 2018 asked 807 young adults between the age of 18–23 about their opinions on and experiences with crossfading[1]. Despite the small sample size relative to the number of people that indulge in the practice, this paper helps us better understand how people view and respond to crossfading.

Overall, only 43% of participants associated the word “crossfading” specifically with alcohol and weed. On top of this, 60% of them had no desire to get crossfaded, and only 5% had a high desire to give it a go. The group also viewed the practice as something best avoided; 33% saw getting crossfaded as very risky, and only 5% viewed it as a low-risk way of getting high.

What Is Crossfading?

The Science Behind Crossfading

It’s no secret that people tend to have a tough time when they mix pints with bong hits or vodka shots with vaping. But why do things go off the rails so often when getting crossfaded? What about booze and bud is so seemingly incompatible? Luckily, researchers at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry took the time to find out.

The team set out to study the interaction between alcohol and cannabis[2], driven by findings that show the two are frequently detected together in those involved in traffic collisions. According to their findings, it appears that boozing while vaping significantly increases levels of THC, and the metabolite 11-hydroxy-THC, in the bloodstream. 11-hydroxy-THC is an even more potent form of delta-9-THC, and thus increasing its levels can potentiate the intoxicating effects significantly.

The researchers recruited 19 adult participants who received either a placebo or low amounts of alcohol before vaping 500mg of placebo, low-strength cannabis, or high-strength cannabis. After taking blood samples, the researchers found that the presence of alcohol significantly increased the amount of THC and 11-hydroxy-THC in the blood.

In the study, “high-strength” cannabis contained a THC content of 6.7%, but most modern cultivars contain over three times this amount. Throw several shots and a few beers into the mix, and you can see why so many people run into trouble when crossfading.

But just because some people have a bad (and even dangerous) experience doesn’t mean you can’t use alcohol and weed together. When done correctly, crossfading offers a buzz that neither substance alone can provide. The sensation will get you in the mood for socialising, and comes in handy in a party environment. Below, you’ll find out how to crossfade effectively, without spending your evening with your head in the toilet bowl.

How To Crossfade

If you want to crossfade successfully, you need to consider your approach, plan ahead, and set yourself some boundaries. Many people autumn victim to uncomfortable side effects when they decide to crossfade when already too drunk to make a rational decision about dosing and pacing.

If you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself into before taking the plunge, you’ll minimise disaster. After giving yourself a little pep talk about being sensible and not going overboard, you should decide in which order to take the two substances. You have two options: drink first, or smoke first. Let’s examine both in a little more detail.

  • Drinking First

Drinking before smoking can seriously amplify the effects of THC and its metabolites. So if you opt for this order, take things one toke at a time. Wait a few minutes between hits, and put that joint down as soon as you feel the desired effects. Also, avoid getting too drunk before smoking. Drink too much, and you’ll feel overconfident, abandon your original approach, and likely end up seeing your dinner again later on in the evening.

  • Smoking First

Interestingly, researchers have explored what happens when you fire up a bong or joint first. A study[3] conducted in 1992 administered a placebo, a high dose of cannabis, or a low dose of cannabis to 15 subjects after consuming alcohol.

The researchers found that cannabis might alter the bioavailability of ethanol and slow down how long it takes to kick in. While this might help to avoid feeling crossfaded too quickly, it makes it easy to continue drinking without knowing how drunk you truly are, before it’s too late. If you choose to blaze before you drink, take things slow, and let your drink settle before you pour another.

How To Crossfade

Can You Crossfade With Edibles?

This is more a question of “should you?” rather than “could you?”. Of course, you’re free to do as you please. But if you neck a few beers after munching down an edible, you’re likely to be in for a rough time. First, eating cannabis causes the liver to convert THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, which, as mentioned, is even more potent than delta-9-THC.

Edibles also take longer to set in, but produce a high much more powerful than that from smoking weed. Adding alcohol to the mix will increase circulating quantities of 11-hydroxy-THC, making the experience even more extreme.

Some cannabis users experience side effects from edibles, such as agitation and nausea. While booze might take the edge off feelings of panic, it certainly won’t help when it comes to feeling sick. Bottom line: we don’t recommend sinking booze and ingesting edibles in the same sitting.

What Booze To Choose?

The kind of alcohol you choose to get crossfaded with won’t have a massive impact. More importantly, you should stay focused on the quantity and be careful not to consume too much.

However, carefully selecting your beverages will make the experience more pleasurable; it all comes down to personal taste. If you enjoy beer, why not select a terpene-packed IPA to accompany your herb? If you’re a wine person, consider a chilled white wine to go alongside some ice-chilled bong hits. Just remember; you need considerably less-strong liquor (spirits) to get on the same level as drinking several beers.

How To Handle a Bad Reaction to Crossfading

Crossfading can feel really enjoyable when done properly. But if you fail to strike a balance, you could experience a bad reaction. The signs that you’ve overdone it are similar to a greenout, only with the highly uncomfortable side effects of booze thrown in there. The main feelings you may experience during this occurrence are:

So, what should you do if this happens? Well, you’ll make things a lot worse by giving in to panic. Start out by taking some deep breaths—the type that makes your abdomen inflate. Inhale through your nose, hold for a couple of seconds, and slowly exhale out of your mouth.

Next, find somewhere comfortable. Get away from the chaos and noise of the party or gathering and find a spot to lay down until these feelings pass. If you feel particularly sick and sleepy, ask a close friend to watch over you for a while to avoid any chance of asphyxiation. You should also aim to dilute your blood by drinking plenty of water, and raise your blood sugar by tucking into some snacks when you can handle them.

Aim to Crossfade Responsibly

Crossfading goes wrong more often than it should. Sure, we all get carried away at parties and other social events. But if you’re planning to crossfade, know that moderation isn’t only key, but it will save you from ruining an otherwise enjoyable experience.

Set your limits before you start drinking or smoking, and set them intentionally low; it’s better to experience a subtle buzz than nausea and vomiting. It’ll also help to crossfade with a friend; someone you can trust to not let you go too far, and vice versa.

External Resources:
  1. Cross-faded: Young Adults’ Language of Being Simultaneously Drunk and High https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Any dose of alcohol combined with cannabis significantly increases levels of THC in blood https://www.sciencedaily.com
  3. Marihuana attenuates the rise in plasma ethanol levels in human subjects - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes only. The information provided is derived from research gathered from external sources.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: