It's strange you point out that quote and not point out this other more telling quote: Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals, the study says, while alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others Not sure if you read the article or not, but it gives alcohol some 72 points out of 100, I think? Yet it doesn't say how many points any of the other drugs are given (except cocaine and tobacco)... Also this whole 'unbiased study' is by a 'scientist' who's decades long agenda has been to show how much safer illegal drugs are than alcohol. After getting kicked out a a british govt drug research group he formed his own panel of former collegues who left when he got kicked out. This group only started up about 10 months ago. Somehow I highly doubt its credibility...but that's just me... Hmm, far more people drink and cause more problems than do coke/heroin...if that's news to anyone they need to get out more often.
He is a scientist who quit his government job because he was sick of politicians overruling his scientifically supported conclusions. Again, it isn't talking about pure numbers of problem drinkers, it is talking about the percentage of users who develop problems, thus the numbers are normalized.
Yes, heroin is incredibly addictive (the second most addictive substance on the planet at present), and I agree that regular heroin users are addicts who certainly show the signs of addiction. However, it is possible for heroin addicts to lead relatively normal, stable lives as productive, working taxpayers if they live in a system other than ours. There are definitely lots of responsible cocaine users who you have met and never suspected that they use cocaine and I would wager that you have met a few occasional heroin users and never knew.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog.../201010/why-intelligent-people-use-more-drugs Why Intelligent People Use More Drugs "People – scientists and civilians alike – often associate intelligence with positive life outcomes. The fact that more intelligent individuals are more likely to consume alcohol, tobacco, and psychoactive drugs tampers this universally positive view of intelligence and intelligent individuals. Intelligent people don’t always do the right thing, only the evolutionarily novel thing." Rocket River
Yep its true alcohol is more harmful to society. <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" data="http://i.adultswim.com/adultswim/video2/tools/swf/viralplayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.adultswim.com/adultswim/video2/tools/swf/viralplayer.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="id=1616dedb31c000540a0fe0dcb301008d" /><embed src="http://i.adultswim.com/adultswim/video2/tools/swf/viralplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="id=1616dedb31c000540a0fe0dcb301008d" allowFullScreen="true" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_yPIC-o1O3k?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_yPIC-o1O3k?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
