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Post Info TOPIC: Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine
StPeteDean


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Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101101/ap_on_he_me/eu_med_dangerous_alcohol

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 methamphetamine, or 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 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.



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LinBaba


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Alcohol and Tobacco those two American Cash cows are 2 of the leading causes of death and cost taxpayers millions a year, probably billions when you factor in non directly related things such as insurance rates, car and health, social services, the fact 80% of our prisons are filled with drug and alcohol related offenses, even rehab has become big business

It's all about the almighty dollar

Does Decriminalizing drugs work?

At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal's drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment so why not give drug addicts health services instead? Under Portugal's new regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social worker and legal adviser for appropriate treatment (which may be refused without criminal punishment), instead of jail. (See the world's most influential people in the 2009 TIME 100.)

The question is, does the new policy work? At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to "drug tourists" and exacerbate Portugal's drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe. But the recently released results of a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggest otherwise.

The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz14KQEiFRX




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StPeteDean


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LB, it would be less expensive and much more effective to remand convicted drug addicts and alcoholics (multiple DUIs) to 9 months of treatment followed by 2 years in a mandatory half way house while on probation... It really takes 2 or 3 years for an addict/alcoholic to "get it" and make the lifestyle/psychic spiritual changes necessary to maintain long term sobriety. Sending addicts to prison is mostly a waste of time and often these individuals just learn how to be better and better connected criminals.

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LinBaba


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StPeteDean wrote:

LB, it would be less expensive and much more effective to remand convicted drug addicts and alcoholics (multiple DUIs) to 9 months of treatment followed by 2 years in a mandatory half way house while on probation... It really takes 2 or 3 years for an addict/alcoholic to "get it" and make the lifestyle/psychic spiritual changes necessary to maintain long term sobriety. Sending addicts to prison is mostly a waste of time and often these individuals just learn how to be better and better connected criminals.



Totally agree

Prison is Big Business now though and VERY powerfully connected Politically, especially here in California

It's easy to use "scare tactics" to get their agendas passed which frankly means locking people up which is "good for business" all on the taxpayers dime

 



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Aquaman


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On The Study: I agree. I would, however, like to see an equal statistical control; same # alcohol abusers & same # heroine, etc. I would also like the study to reflect as many legal arenas as possible to level out availability slants.

On Drug Laws: I agree with Bill. That action would gradually reduce demand until the organized crime element was no longer as lucrative as other criminal ventures.

On The Business of US Prisons: I was shocked when I found out that a prison's population is counted towards a district's constituency. That is incentive for representatives to build 'em bigger and pack 'em full. US prisoners are also a cheap labor commodity when trying to draw business to a region that has jack-dick going for it.

Peace,
Rob


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Jerry F


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Though not discussed in meetings this information is very useful.  Thanks. smile

Reading both of the papers is enlightening however a very open mind is required.
Both countries are under the stress of addiction.



-- Edited by Jerry F on Saturday 6th of November 2010 11:10:20 PM

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