CANNABIS IS A DESTRUCTIVE DRUG
Drug Harms in the UK: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis
Drug Harms in the UK: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis
One of the greatest myths repeated about marijuana is that it is not a toxic drug, and, that it is “safer” than other drugs like alcohol or nicotine.
The truth is that numerous legitimate and scientific studies have proven otherwise. But one study in particular clearly demonstrated three dynamics of marijuana use: that it is harmful across a spectrum of criteria, that it is as harmful and “toxic” as most other drugs, and that it is harmful to both self - and also to others.
A major study in Great Britain, published in the prestigious international medical journal Lancet in November of 2010, compared 20 different drugs against 16 categories of harm – either as harm to self or harm to society.
The study, Drug Harms in the UK: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis by Professors David J Nutt, FMedSci, Leslie A. King, PhD, and Lawrence D. Phillips, PhD. on behalf of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, sought to demonstrate that the proper assessment of the harms caused by the misuse of drugs can inform policy makers in health, policing, and social care. For the study, a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) model was applied to a range of drug harms in the UK.
● Cannabis was ranked 8th of the twenty drugs studied, for drug harm to Self and to Society.
● Additionally, the study found that cannabis was associated with some 15-of- the-16 criteria of harm.
There were strong findings for cannabis related to economic costs to self and society, crime, drug related impairment of mental functioning, drug specific impairment of mental functioning, drug dependency, and drug related damage.
Cannabis was also found associated with family adversity, loss of relationships, injury, negative effects on the community, loss of tangibles (income, housing, jobs, educational achievements, criminal record, imprisonment, etc.), and drug related mortality (accidents, cancers, etc.)
A secondary finding from this study is that cannabis was found to be harmful not just to self - but also significantly so - to others. This finding directly contradicts marijuana folklore that cannabis use does not interfere with the rights, health, or quality of life of others.
While the study acknowledged that several drugs were definitely more harmful than cannabis, it clearly demonstrated that cannabis is not a benign substance and is a substance that has negative results across the spectrum of criteria used for measuring harm – and that translates into a real reduction in the quality of life for self, family and society.
The truth is that numerous legitimate and scientific studies have proven otherwise. But one study in particular clearly demonstrated three dynamics of marijuana use: that it is harmful across a spectrum of criteria, that it is as harmful and “toxic” as most other drugs, and that it is harmful to both self - and also to others.
A major study in Great Britain, published in the prestigious international medical journal Lancet in November of 2010, compared 20 different drugs against 16 categories of harm – either as harm to self or harm to society.
The study, Drug Harms in the UK: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis by Professors David J Nutt, FMedSci, Leslie A. King, PhD, and Lawrence D. Phillips, PhD. on behalf of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, sought to demonstrate that the proper assessment of the harms caused by the misuse of drugs can inform policy makers in health, policing, and social care. For the study, a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) model was applied to a range of drug harms in the UK.
● Cannabis was ranked 8th of the twenty drugs studied, for drug harm to Self and to Society.
● Additionally, the study found that cannabis was associated with some 15-of- the-16 criteria of harm.
There were strong findings for cannabis related to economic costs to self and society, crime, drug related impairment of mental functioning, drug specific impairment of mental functioning, drug dependency, and drug related damage.
Cannabis was also found associated with family adversity, loss of relationships, injury, negative effects on the community, loss of tangibles (income, housing, jobs, educational achievements, criminal record, imprisonment, etc.), and drug related mortality (accidents, cancers, etc.)
A secondary finding from this study is that cannabis was found to be harmful not just to self - but also significantly so - to others. This finding directly contradicts marijuana folklore that cannabis use does not interfere with the rights, health, or quality of life of others.
While the study acknowledged that several drugs were definitely more harmful than cannabis, it clearly demonstrated that cannabis is not a benign substance and is a substance that has negative results across the spectrum of criteria used for measuring harm – and that translates into a real reduction in the quality of life for self, family and society.