We Coulda' Told 'Em That
 

Study: Alcohol more dangerous than heroin, cocaine
'What governments decide is illegal is not always based on science'
By MARIA CHENG
The Associated Press
updated 11/1/2010 2:46:35 AM ET 2010-11-01T06:46:35
Share Print Font: +-LONDON — Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.

British experts evaluated substances including 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 like 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 methamphetamines, or crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals. When considering their wider social effects and harm to others, 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.

Devastating consequences
The study was paid for by Britain's Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and was published online Monday in the medical journal, 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 co-authored a commentary in the Lancet.

When drunk 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."

King said countries should target problem drinkers, not the vast majority of people who indulge in a drink or two. He said governments should consider more education programs and raising the price of alcohol so it isn't as widely available.

Experts said the study should prompt countries to reconsider how they classify drugs. For example, last year in Britain, the government increased its penalties for the possession of marijuana. One of its senior advisers, David Nutt — the lead author on the Lancet study — was fired after he criticized the British decision.

"What governments decide is illegal is not always based on science," said van den Brink. He said considerations about revenue and taxation, like those garnered from the alcohol and tobacco industries, may influence decisions about which substances to regulate or outlaw.

"Drugs that are legal cause at least as much damage, if not more, than drugs that are illicit," he said.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

amen, sister.

by the way, that guy was the drug czar here in the uk, professor nutt.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...k-Ecstasy.html

he spoke the truth.

they fired him.

and his right hand scientist quit in protest.

the two of them then got funding to do this study.

can't keep a good man down!

Something I figured out long ago is we are fighting an impossible battle on the homefront. Alcohol plays a HUGE part in the US economy and in other developed countries like the UK. And not just the sale of alcohol but all the services and industries alcohol affects. It is a sad system we live in.

Thanks for sharing that article, Naive. Very interesting!

Thanks for sharing the article.

I read it and thought, "well duh"! The real eye-opener was when my DS pointed out the article to my W!

Amen to that. :(

totally

We live in a pill-popping society, never mind the rampant ingestion of alcohol!

I am stupefied by the number of commercials that pretty much promote popping a pill for an ill.

Look at the cash cow with Budweiser and the NFL, not to mention the fact that Budweiser is one of the biggest sponsors of the Superbowl. Look at Nascar and its sponsors.

Alcohol is socially acceptable and encouraged.

I agree. People can call me boring but this is exactly why I do not go to those things or watch them on TV. I also stay away from places and events where they serve alcohol.

I've always been fairly liberal, and I still am. However, I never really thought much about the devastating effects of alcohol until it crashed into my own life.

Having seen what it's done to my AW, and others, I can almost understand why prohibitionists felt the way they did. I realize that prohibition can't work, and I wouldn't support it if someone proposed it again.

However, studies like this one indicate that we've got a serious problem on our hands, and maybe we, as a society, should pay more attention to it.

DeVon, yes, you are right about the pills too. They ARE the new alcohol. I do my best not to even take Over-the-Counter pain relievers if I can help it.

I think we do. I think we pay a LOT of attention to it. We certainly spend a lot of money on it.

Interesting point about the pills, too. My AW takes about 20 prescription medications. I recently heard a story on the radio about how pharmaceutical companies recruit doctors to push their pills for them.

I think AW's case may be exacerbated by her OCD and hypochondriac tendencies. Over the years, she's gone to the doctor for every little ache or pain, and the doctors have been all too glad to prescribe a new pill for it. She also takes medicines for her psychiatric problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. This pharma cocktail may have made her more vulnerable to alcohol; who knows? She's a mess, either way.