Study: Alcohol more dangerous than illegal drugs - The Denver Post
Study: Alcohol more dangerous than illegal drugs - The Denver Post
LONDON — Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.
British experts evaluated substances that included alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.
Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria such as environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services and prison.
Heroin, crack cocaine and crystal meth were the most lethal to individuals. When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.
The study was paid for by Britain's Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and was published online today in the medical journal The Lancet.
Experts said alcohol scored so high because it is so widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them.
"Just think about what happens (with alcohol) at every football game," said Wim van den Brink, a professor of psychiatry and addiction at the University of Amsterdam. He was not linked to the study and was a co-author of a commentary in The Lancet.
When consumed in excess, alcohol damages nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin.
But experts said it would be impractical and incorrect to outlaw alcohol.
"We cannot return to the days of prohibition," said Leslie King, an adviser to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and one of the study's authors. "Alcohol is too embedded in our culture, and it won't go away."
Read more: Study: Alcohol more dangerous than illegal drugs - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_16487353#ixzz142IshRCC
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1 comment:
I firmly believe that marijuana, a natural herb, was criminalized because it offers many, many incredible health benefits. A research will prove that marijuana benefits the mind, body and spirit. It has healed many physical diseases, such as cancer and cataracts, and calmed the tormented mind. The corporate medical industries would find disharmony in their bank accounts through the harmony of the people. :-)
Marijuans is a well known natural pain reliever. Everyone would agree that the use of weed would significantly ease our emotional pains and we could laugh and LAUGH at the multitudes of corporate and political pains in society. It's no wonder why 'grass' was deemed illegal. Control.
Alcohol is a killer and it's profitable to many in certain occupations. Abuse of alcohol destroys the mind, body and spirit. When it's abused, it's a boon for medical personnel, the 'law', the prison industry ... and the undertaker. The irony is these people abuse alcohol also. The 'good buddy' systems work in defense of crimes 'they' commit.
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