Most Dangerous Drugs

Most dangerous drugs
Research recently published in the medical journal The Lancet rates the most dangerous drugs (starting with the worst) as follows:

1. Heroin
2. Cocaine
3. Barbiturates
4. Street methadone
5. Alcohol
6. Ketamine
7. Benzodiazepines
8. Amphetamine
9. Tobacco
10. Buprenorphine
11. Cannabis
12. Solvents
13. 4-MTA
14. LSD
15. Methylphenidate
16. Anabolic steroids
17. GHB
18. Ecstasy
19. Alkyl nitrates
20. Khat

Rest of article on MSN
Most dangerous drugs
Hola Senora Kat
WOW!....Buprenorphine is # 10?
Very interesting
I don't agree with thhat list in the least.
I don't either. One example: inhaling solvents is less dangerous then weed?
The only opiate listed is heroin and bupe. Funny seeing this considering where we are here. Ecstacy at the very bottom?
From the article:

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 researchers asked two groups of experts psychiatrists specializing in addiction and legal or police officials with scientific or medical expertise to assign scores to 20 different drugs, including heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, amphetamines and LSD.

Each different panel of "experts" (addicts, for example, or parents, partners of addicts) might rate these drugs differently. Also, that's a very limited list of criteria for judging harm.
It's pretty messed up. I also don't think you can mix "legal" drugs in with "Illegal" ones..such as comparing alcohol to heroin. As an example, they say 50% of all ER visits are alcohol related. That's fine and probably true. However, if you look at the percentage of the population who uses alcohol versus the percentage that uses heroin, of course more ER visits are going to be alcohol related. What is the ratio? 1000 to 1 maybe? 10,000 to 1? Probably. The baseline is wrong, certainly. I'm not saying alcohol isn't dangerous because it certainly is. It's probably rated so highly because of the overall impact on society. What's the weight factor of that, though? But on a 1:1 ratio basis, almost everything on that list rates higher than alcohol (and I don't even drink nor condone drinkiing in any way). Another example is pot. It's a pretty well know fact that pot is the drug most people "start" with before advancing on to other drugs. That's not factored in at all.


Something tells me these guys were doing bong hits as they compiled this list.
Kat To me Cigs are the most dangerous. They kill the most people. That is how I rate danger. Alcohol would be first or second with the cigs.

How then can put a drug like Buperenorphine is like them putting Chemotherapy which is dangerous?

The Poll does not make any sense.

Also Methadone by far much more dangerous than Coke? or heroin. JMHO

Kat WTF is KHAT???#20

Enjoy your day--Jeff

1. Heroin
2. Cocaine
3. Barbiturates
4. Street methadone
5. Alcohol
6. Ketamine
7. Benzodiazepines
8. Amphetamine
9. Tobacco
10. Buprenorphine
11. Cannabis
12. Solvents
13. 4-MTA
14. LSD
15. Methylphenidate
16. Anabolic steroids
17. GHB
18. Ecstasy
19. Alkyl nitrates
20. Khat
I agree Jeff it makes no sense to me.
I was surprised to see that OTC cold meds werent on there.
I guess thats been the NEW fade in HS for around 2 years now.So much so that certain ones are NOW kept behind the counters.

Makes me wonder who desided that list is the way it is???
I would agree with tobacco being number one on this particular list. I would rate alcohol lower than 5 though, simply because of the sheer volume of drinkers vs. impact on health or society. Granted, it's probably leads the overall list in impact (in relation to pure numbers) but the usage is SO high, it really invalidates the entire "study". I mean, realistically Jeff, how long would it take you to "score" alcohol as opposed to heroin or pot? It's so frggin pervasive. If it wasn't for organized crime implications, I really think alsohol is better off illegal. THAT would never happen. We tried it once I think..hehe..

And also, neither alcohol or cigarettes will ever become illegal. The lobbies are too strong and so much state and county tax revenues are derived from it, it's not going anywhere soon.
Danny what is kinda throwing me is the Inhalents being LESS danerous than pot???
Comon they medically GIVE pot to certain patients & the inhalents kill more brain cells than pot ever could
By the way I was a true blue smokerfor YEARS,in a way Im still pro pot.Not as far as a drug but as far as all the things that hemp can be used for(rope,clothing etc)
Ill say it I also agree with it be medically used.I seen what it did for my grandmother at the age of 62 so I realize there are benefits to it for very sick people
I don't smoke pot (any longer) but it certainly should be legal over both tobacco or alcohol. (not saying even pot should be legal..well, maybe medicinal would be ok)

I mean, cigarettes. Jesus...(and I still smoke..it's horrible)
Danny if you speak to the health care industry each night these trauma centers are dealinfg with ALCOHOL related injuries. its driven costs out of control.

Making healthcare to expensive.

You think any of these people who come in daily pay for there care? i do not know the Exact numbers but I read that alcohol and alcohol related accidents and cigs and there side effects are the 2biggest killers of human beings.

Jeff
I don't think anyone ever died almost instantly from hitting a joint. However, this is a very real danger with inhalents. I'm viewing this list from the perspective of being the mother of teens. I can't help it. And while I council very strongly against weed, I've worn the record out on inhalents. And cigarettes. Some listed near the bottom are very deadly. Even using the criteria given, it's a stupid list.
I totally agree.Makes me wonder where the info came from.As a parent of 2 teens I also KNOW whats moving through the schools(thankfully Anne is very comfortable discussing this with me)
Inhalents can & do kill the FIRST TIME.
Also what I brought up about OTC cold meds.I mean do these kids even realize the reason they get that feeling is because they are oding?Truley THATS what makes them hallucinate & such,because they will take 10 at a time.
I know certain brands like (sp)Cortisin)is now kept behind the counters because anyone can buy them
How sad...

I wanted to ask as far as you being against weed(which I totally respect)do you mean your against even medical use or just recreational???
Jeff, again, I have no doubt alcohol is a huge killer. Probably number two behind tobacco. My only point was there are SO many people who drink and that in itself is why the rankings are so wacky. What other drug (and yep, alcohol is a SERIOUS drug) can find it's way into any football stadium on any given Sunday and effect 2/3's of those in attendence to the point of being imbeciles.

I mean, come on..go into ANY bar in the country after 7:00PM and 90% of of the people would "blow' a DUI. Anyone who drinks on any kind of regular basis who says they have never driven while drunk (as defined by the law) is a friggin liar. Or stupid. Or a stupid liar.

The tobacco lobbies are just too strong to do outright outlaw cigarettes and the tax revenues are to lucrative.

As far as alcohol, DUI courts are a revolving door, in which legal professionals (and the courts) make way too much money defending or prosecuting. Most legislators are former and future lawyers and they certainly are not going to enact laws that hurt their potential revenue streams. No way. No how.

I have the upmost respect for the legal profession. I respect the fact that we need to hang them all....

Hey Molly,
I ran to the store quick and I'm just seeing this now. I personally think weed does less harm then alcohol. I'm against my kids doing any kind of drug, and so far we're doing good. I think medicical weed is a good thing and the regulations should be adjusted accordingly. There certainly is a place in medicine for it just like opiates. That is just my opinion. Sometimes I miss it more then the opiates!
Beck
My last name before i got married is Nutt. LOL bet you didn't know that!!

Looks like LSD is safer than most. Wish me a good trip!

stac
As far as reality is concerned that list is wrong, wrong , wrong. There is so much mixing of apples and oranges and tomatoes- it is stupid.


That being said, I've gotta believe alcohal is pretty close to the top, (whiskey,) pretty close to crack.

AS far as pure danger, LSD MAYBE. I had that figured out even when I was a kid.

1 trip could do u in (and it almost did do me in)

Heroin, well it depends. Sound bizarre, Im certainly not endorsing it. But then again, check out someone who does a few bags a day for 30 years, verses someone who drinks jack daniels every day for 30 years.

If all the guy is doing is H , he could have worked , & been pretty much OK. Of course when u add the law into the mix, it does change things. The fact that heroin is illegal makes it much more dangerous, maybe even as dangerous as alcohal. (Sorry danny)

Sniffing glue and all that crap belongs at the top to.
I agree, inhalents are so much more dangerous and an eppidemic in our community. What the heck is "Khat"? As far as destroying lives? They are ALL dangerous. Period.
For centuries, khat, (pronounced COT), scientifically known as Catha Edulis, is known by over 40 different street names including, kat, qat, chat, gat, tohai, tschat, and mirraa. Khat is a 6-12-foot flowering evergreen shrub or small tree native to East Africa and Southern Arabia. The fresh young leaves of the Catha Edulis shrub, has been consumed where the plant is cultivated, primarily in East Africa and the Arabian peninsula. There, chewing khat predates the use of coffee and is used in a similar social context.

Chewed in moderation, khat alleviates fatigue and reduces appetite. Compulsive use may result in manic behavior with grandiose delusions or in a paranoid type of illness, sometimes accompanied by hallucinations.

Khat has been brought into the U.S. and other countries for use by emigrants from the source countries. It contains a number of chemicals among which are two controlled substances, cathinone (Schedule I) and cathine (Schedule IV). As the leaves mature or dry, cathinone is converted to cathine which significantly reduces its stimulatory properties. Cathinone is approximately 10 more times more potent than cathine and is only present in fresh leaves.

Cathine, the secondary active ingredient in Khat, does not lose much of its potency with age as with cathinone. Leaves less than 48 hours old are preferred to ensure a maximum potency of cathinone. However, Khat can be preserved by freezing, the same way that vegetables and meats are kept fresh in the United States.