Booze, Drugs, And Diving

[MacDuyver]

New to diving. I picked it up because I love to travel and the last 3 countries I went to had amazing diving but I was not certified.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting new people, and often times the best way to make a new friend is over a drink... or 5...

So assuming I will be drinking and diving on a trip I am looking for a realistic "middle ground"

The things I have heard vary greatly. I've heard people say, "Don't drink within 24 hours of a dive."

But I also know people who will dive while drunk (I understand this is stupid)

My questions are as follows.

How long should you wait after a night of "solid" drinking before you dive again?

Are there any risks to diving while drunk? Putting actual impairment aside, purely physiologic

And basically the same questions but with Marijuana. Planning a trip to Thailand soon so...

Does depth play a factor in any of this? After a night of drinking is a 10m dive totally ok but a 20m a no-go?


I understand risk, and that "not doing it" is the best way to go about it. However, lots of things in life are risky. I am looking to balance risk/reward.

I appreciate any response!
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Having done it a couple times: diving hungover is easily one of the worst experiences in the world. Even at shallow as 15’ It feels like your face is trying to explode but it’s being crushed into place by the water. All at the same time.

As for drinking before a dive, that’s an absolute **** idea. Nothing further needs to be said on the matter. “8hrs no drinking with no hangover at dive time” is my rule of thumb.

Deco beers are where it’s at tho.

I don’t **** w drugs so I can’t really speak on them. Gonna go out on a limb and assume they’re also not the best idea.

 

[berndo]

Some dive ops have a "no diving for the day after drinking, even 1 drink" rule, and for a good reason.

Why did you say 'some dive ops' have a rule when you're talking about drinking before a dive on the same day?
It's not some, it's virtually all. What dive op allows people to drink before the dive?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Diving impaired is like shoving a boyscout into a NAMBLA convention.

You might be ok but odds are something is going to go pear-shaped and you're probably not going to like it.

 

[arew+4]

8hrs after multiple drinks, and no hangover is a good rule of thumb. I have had a beer (11oz Amstel or El Presidente, not 16oz imperial Stout @ 9.5%) with lunch and dove a few hours later. No ill effects. This was shallow shore diving on Bonaire, where there is mostly little danger, and no nannies.

Edit:
A couple of notes, this is not my common practice, and it is never more than one, as I have reached the age where day drinking is no longer a viable option.

 

[sprockjohnson]

I don't think the effects of alcohol intoxication on diving have been studied much, so we can't rule out some kind of "amplification" or other effect.

Yeah, liveaboards and some land-based dive ops/resorts have a strict rule about a diver's first drink ending their diving for the day.

To me, it depends on the context. A few of my dive buddies have been known to enjoy a beer at lunch between morning and afternoon laid-back tropical reef dives. I have tried it, and while I love beer, I believe I felt "off" on the afternoon dive (though it could just as well have been an effect of eating too much!). Now, if we're talking 12+ hours before some laid-back diving, sure, I'm fine with having a couple of beers--nowhere enough to induce a hangover. But if I have challenging dives awaiting me, where I need to be at the top of my game, all alcohol is out of the picture for me.

Non-alcoholic beers are getting better and better, and it has even been suggested that they might help with hydration and electrolyte balance, etc. But I don't think that's what the OP was getting at.

I think there is something to the intensifying of effects at pressure. I had one beer during a 1-1.5 hour surface interval while spearfishing in the gulf in about 75-80 feet of water and even though the small buzz appeared to have gone away by the time I jumped in for the second dive I felt the effects intensify immediately as I descended. It felt more like what perhaps 2-3 beers would usually feel like for me but the intensified buzz only lasted a few minutes before going away. Horrible feeling and would not recommend.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Why did you say 'some dive ops' have a rule when you're talking about drinking before a dive on the same day?
It's not some, it's virtually all. What dive op allows people to drink before the dive?

I can't speak to what Brett had in mind, but I think of a dive resort where nobody in any official capacity is watching what you consume at lunch. Some people who see a diver consume a beer at lunch may assume the diver is planning to sit out the afternoon dives. Other people might simply turn a blind eye to a beer being consumed at lunch. Or maybe if there IS a rule, it isn't enforced--again, staff pretending not to see it.

 

[Vicko]

Nitrogen narcosis is a instant hangover cure.
It's also a great way to get bent. Most hungover people are dehydrated and every bent rec diver I ever saw was dehydrated before getting into water.

 

[Hoyden]

Since no one has really addressed your question about Marijuana and diving, I will share what DAN has to say - I attended F Tillman's presentation on it at DEMA in Orlando a couple of years ago. I was interested because Maryland had just legalized medical (we now have recreational) cannabis and I was concerned about our staff and vounteer diver safety. She was pretty clear that unless someone injests or smokes cannabis on the day of their dives, they should be fine. THC is the concerning metabolite and it has a fairly short half life. Here is an article that gives more details - Cannabis and Diving.

 

[lowwall]

She was pretty clear that unless someone injests or smokes cannabis on the day of their dives, they should be fine. THC is the concerning metabolite and it has a fairly short half life. Here is an article that gives more details - Cannabis and Diving.

Good article. Here's the conclusions:

THC levels drop quite rapidly after smoking cannabis, and the levels are low enough for normal functioning on land within about two to three hours... Driving tests have indicated that impairment is dose dependent and generally lasts for two to four hours....

[W]ith ingestion of cannabis, there is a lower peak, but the half-life is longer (four to six hours). It should be noted that plasma levels differ between people ingesting the same amount of cannabis.

Since the psychoactive effects are the main acute safety concern during diving, and everyone responds differently to the consumption of cannabis, it is advisable that divers stay out of the water for at least eight hours following smoking or ingestion of cannabis cookies or the oil (in case the oil has any THC) to be confident there will be no psychoactive effects. This period should be extended if a large amount was ingested.

Like I said above, "For pot, a few hours after you no longer feel high will be fine. You can use the same 8 hour [alcohol] rule if you want to keep it simple."

 

[Nelsonka]

My husband and I dive on vacation and usually have a drink or two the night before. However, I dove once when I had a few too many the night before, and was a little wobbly that morning. But, it was a rocky day on the water and I got pretty nauseous. When I started my dive, I felt worse and worse. Fortunately, my dive instructor had an eye on me. As soon as he realized I was going to vomit, he bolted over and pushed my regulator against my mouth because, intuitively, I wanted to remove it. Had my instructor been doing anything else, I likely would have inhaled water and drowned. So much can go wrong underwater, even when you are on top of your game, that I think you have to take care with your choices. I'm not saying abstain, but don't dive on days when you feel the least bit hungover if you are prone to nausea.