As finals are coming up the heat is being turned on for college students. And as the stress is turned up, students are looking for relief, turning to smoking and drinking.

I’m not condoning smoking or drinking, and both are detrimental to your physical and mental health.

What does harmful actually mean? Harmful will describe how each substance affects mental and physical health.

How many of us, in our ongoing quest to understand our world, have asked this question: “What’s worse? To smoke weed or drink alcohol?” I hear it all the time: “Yeah I smoke, at least I don’t drink.” Or “I don’t know why weed is still illegal when alcohol isn’t.”

After many years of clinical trials and research this reporter has arrived at a very hazy conclusion.

In terms of which one is the most harmful; weed is definitely on lower levels when compared to alcohol.

One of the most prominent arguments is that you cannot overdose while smoking weed.

This is not true; however, the overdose is not as harmful as other substances. When overdosing on that “Shticky Icky Icky,” one might find themselves very sleepy and proceed to sleep wherever necessary.

Not much is needed for one under the influence; a comfy bed, a hardwood floor. Or even the dog bed on your kitchen floor, don’t worry, Spot wont mind.

Overdosing on alcohol means you are actively poisoning your body. You can kill yourself. The body deals with it by vomiting, and if it can’t vomit then you need to have your stomach pumped.

Alcohol can lead to a serious impairment of judgment that can result in a multitude of life changing decisions. Alcohol can also lead to a physical addiction that will end up playing a huge factor in that individual’s life.

Alcohol not only affects the mind in a very negative way, but it can also hurt the body and lead to the failure of several main organs.

It is healthiest to find an outlet, which does not include a controlled substance to relieve stress. But, if you must, weed is definitely the lesser of two evils.