People can sometimes make you feel like a prude for not using illegal drugs. I never feel more square than when I'm invited to hang out with people but someone who is hip and aware of my lifestyle choices decides to talk for me.
"Hey you guys wanna hang out, maybe smoke a joint?" says the really cute girl. "Oh, Colin doesn't smoke, how 'bout we meet up with you later, buddy?" says my former friend the stupid ass, who is totally lame when he's high, anyway.
Now though, thanks to the Lancet, the next time someone makes me feel like I don't know how to have a good time, I can remind them that I have no problems consuming the fifth most dangerous drug available to the human race: Alcohol. Well, except if I have to work the next day. I am so hangover prone.
Take that, hippie.
In research published Friday in The Lancet magazine, Professor David Nutt of Britain's Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks posed to society.
Nutt and colleagues used three factors to determine the harm associated with any drug: the physical harm to the user, the drug's potential for addiction, and the impact on society of drug use.
The powerhouses heroine and cocaine came out on top, then barbiturates, street methadone and in fifth place alcohol. Noticeably absent from the list was cannabis, which came in at 11th. And ecstacy was considered even lower according to Nutt's research. Here are the top ten:
- 1. Heroin
- 2. Cocaine
- 3. Barbiturates
- 4. Street Methadone
- 5. Alcohol
- 6. Ketamine
- 7. Benzodiazepines
- 8. Amphetamine
- 9. Tobacco
- 10.Buprenorphine
The list was tabulated by asking two groups of experts: Psychiatrists with expertise in addiction, and legal officials who are experienced in the science, behavior and medical aspects of drug use. The results will challenge the current notion of harmful drugs and their regulation. While Nutt warns that all drugs are dangerous, his research suggests that our perception of illegal and recreational drugs needs some readjustment.
"The current drug system is ill thought-out and arbitrary," said Nutt, referring to the United Kingdom's practice of assigning drugs to three distinct divisions, ostensibly based on the drugs' potential for harm. "The exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary," write Nutt and his colleagues in The Lancet.
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SonOfAPunk
Maple Ridge, BC
January 2006
APR 08, 2007 10:11 PM
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SonOfAPunk
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SonOfAPunk
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SonOfAPunk
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SonOfAPunk
Maple Ridge, BC
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SonOfAPunk
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SonOfAPunk
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SonOfAPunk
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