Study: Alcohol more dangerous than heroin, cocaine 'What governments decide is illegal is not always based on science'

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By MARIA CHENG

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.

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