Alcohol ranked most harmful drug

Wouldn't it be wild if we had a national drug policy based on, I don't know, science and rationality, instead of propaganda and fear?  The British medical journal, The Lancet,  last November released one of the most comprehensive studies into harms associated with various drugs:

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 harmful to individuals. When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the worst. 

Overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.

There's hope though.  A poll released last Thursday showed 58 percent of Americans now favor regulating marijuana the same as alcohol.  Anecdotally, here in Montana, marijuana is essentially legal, and, at least among the under 40 crowd, it seems those who choose marijuana as their drug of preference rivals those who choose alcohol.  There was an analysis I read a few years back, but I couldn't seem to find now, that predicted that by 2024 marijuana would surpass alcohol as the nation's drug of choice.

I don't care what anyone chooses as their drug, if any, however from purely a public health and safety standpoint, I think it is important we start moving our society towards cannabis.  There are close to 100,000 alcohol related deaths a year in the United States.  Close to 450,000 tobacco related deaths a year. There are zero marijuana related deaths a year.  Marijuana also has less addictive qualities than substances such as alcohol and tobacco.

In addition, alcohol contributes significantly to the rate of violent crime and domestic abuse in this country.  Over half of all violent crime in this country, alcohol is involved.  Close to 70 percent of all reported domestic violence incidences, alcohol is involved.  Whereas marijuana I'm pretty sure is an antonym to violence.

Here's the great comedian Bill Hicks take on drug policy: