Of course heroin and crack are "more addictive," but that is only one component of the harm caused by drugs. If you back off of the example of crack and talk about cocaine in general, there are a lot of people who use cocaine responsibly as well. There are people in Switzerland who have been able to lead normal, stable lives as employed, productive taxpayers despite receiving prescription grade heroin on a daily basis. Glynch talked about the pure numbers of people who have problems with alcohol, but it is about comparing the percentage of users versus the percentage of people who have problems. Those percentages are similar between alcohol and cocaine, and slightly elevated for heroin. However, the actual harm done to the human body by alcohol is dramatic (when abused), so much so that it rates among the most dangerous drugs known to man. BTW, it has also been shown that cigarettes are as or more addictive than heroin, but that just makes sense since the tobacco companies engineered them that way.
I am a guy who is trying to kick alcohol. I have tried powder form cocaine, acid, mushrooms, ecstasy over the years, I never touch them now though I can see that the cocaine would have probably been something I could have become addicted to if I had been exposed to it more. Alcohol is a powerful, powerful drug as powerful as anything I have tried. And if it has a hold of you it is the "***** of *****es to get rid of it. You can't take your alcohol dealer out of your phone, he is on every street corner. I support MJ legalization, I don't have the rose colored glasses that some do that the drug is essentially harmless. It can be devastating to memory and socially and economically stunting (sorry all I have is apocryphal evidence...take it or leave it). But those consequences seem much less severe than the alcohol stuff. Waking up wondering if you still have all the friends you had the night before is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. I don't think we need some new prohibition and demonizing alcohol or any drug in the schools (while they see their parents use it at home) is not going to work. I know when I tried cocaine the first time, I did it with my heart racing that I was taking some kind of huge life-and-death risk. I think that is true of many peoples first time to try it, and some people are never willing to take that risk at all. Maybe THAT'S the idea we need to educate the public about, that alcohol is a verybigdeal Maybe a study like this can help, I don't know.
Total bogus study done by a pot smoker. Yes, alcohol is more deadly because it's legal, and way more people get behind the wheel to drive drunk. I've never tried crack or heroin, but I can tell you that the hangover effect after dropping X is much worse than an alcohol hangover. Back in the day I wouldn't feel completely normal for a few days after dropping X, but it's probably due to the depleted serotonin levels. I've also never seen an alcoholic offering to turn tricks for booze.
Did you even read the article? From the very first sentence: Alcohol can definitely be harmful to an individual but when you consider it's affect to the masses, it's a lot more. Because it is legal and considered socially acceptable, people aren't as careful.
sorry...this study's conclusions are bunk. I've yet to meet a regular user of crack or heroin who wasn't very messed up (though...apparently..there are a few in Switzerland). The same isn't true for alcohol. I think this might be like examining per 48 minute stats to conclude a bench player is better then a starter -- and dismissing all the factors that determine why he's a bench player. The study's author also concluded ecstasy was less dangerous then horse riding -- so I'm thinking he's not particularly unbiased here! Agendaed research tends to reach provocative (and headline inducing) results that may not be particularly meaningful.
I would like to significantly cut back on my alcohol consumption, but I keep getting dragged into the routine of drinking with my friends. The social acceptability of drinking can make it hard to get away from.
Scientists come out with new studies all the time that refute each other. You can't really trust them either.
This is the problem with quiting drinking. It's physical dependence isn't near the level of harder drugs, but it is constantly around you. Then as you drink more, it becomes easier to drink the next one.
So true. But at the same time, I can't imagine life without it. It would suck in a Mormon board-game on Friday night sort of way. I mean really? People say you can have fun without alcohol which is true, but sometimes you just want to let loose and you want everyone else to let loose in the proper environment. I go to bars and amusement parks and enjoyed both, but there's a time and place for either. Of course, there are risk to over consumption, but my life would be less... not sure of the word... if alcohol was banned. I'm only a social drinker and don't really need a drink unless I'm out with friends.
The more practice society has with a drug, the more responsible they will be with it. People weren't this responsible with alcohol throughout the prohibition of alcohol.
FWIW, it is easy to avoid the X hangover. Eat a couple of multivitamin tablets before taking the drug, then vitamin C as you are coming down. No hangover at all. Yes, because alcohol is relatively inexpensive (unlike prohibition inflated drug prices) and available from legitimate businesspeople who, for the most part, won't trade for sex.
You have probably met several regular users of cocaine, heroin, and X without ever knowing they were users of those substances. On a statistical basis, X is less dangerous than horseback riding. It is not a particularly addictive drug, cannot be taken day after day, and isn't particularly toxic. A higher percentage of horseback riders die than X users. It isn't bias, it is statistics.
Personally, I would legalize cocaine in a different way. The most common forms of consumption when it was legal was in Coca-Cola and a wine mixture called Vin Mariani. Regulate the delivery method and you can severely reduce the addictiveness of the substance.
Funny story. Right after my last post in this thread, I went out for a walk and almost got stabbed by a coke-head losing his mind with a needle in his hand. This is in plain daylight in front of a starbucks. The police question him as I walk away, and on my way back home, I see that he's chillin with his friends. I don't know how he didn't get arrested. I'm in Germany btw.
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What? Heroin is incredibly addictive, I highly doubt many people have met regular heroin users and couldn't tell something was a bit different about them. I'm all for legalization, but this sounds a bit too far fetched...
