Ranking the harm of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs for the individual and the population
- PMID: 20606445
- DOI: 10.1159/000317249
Ranking the harm of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs for the individual and the population
Abstract
Drug policy makers continuously face a changing pattern of drug use, i.e. new drugs appear on the market, the popularity of certain drugs changes or drugs are used in another way or another combination. For legislative purposes, drugs have mostly been classified according to their addictive potency. Such classifications, however, lack a scientific basis. The present study describes the results of a risk assessment study where 19 recreational drugs (17 illicit drugs plus alcohol and tobacco) used in the Netherlands have been ranked by a Dutch expert panel according to their harm based on the scientific state of the art. The study applies a similar approach as recently applied by Nutt et al. [Lancet 2007;369:1047-1053], so that the results of both studies could be compared. The harm indicators scored are acute and chronic toxicity, addictive potency and social harm. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the legal classification of drugs in the Netherlands corresponds with the ranking of the drugs according to their science-based ranking of harm. Based on the results, recommendations are formulated about the legal classification of recreational drugs at national and international level which serves a rational approach for drug control.
Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Similar articles
-
A review of the efficacy and effectiveness of harm reduction strategies for alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs.Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006 Nov;25(6):611-24. doi: 10.1080/09595230600944529. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006. PMID: 17132577 Review.
-
Basing drug scheduling decisions on scientific ranking of harmfulness: false promise from false premises.Addiction. 2011 Nov;106(11):1886-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03461.x. Epub 2011 Sep 6. Addiction. 2011. PMID: 21895823
-
Civil society-a leader in HIV prevention and tobacco control.Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006 Nov;25(6):625-32. doi: 10.1080/09595230600944578. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006. PMID: 17132578 Review.
-
European rating of drug harms.J Psychopharmacol. 2015 Jun;29(6):655-60. doi: 10.1177/0269881115581980. Epub 2015 Apr 28. J Psychopharmacol. 2015. PMID: 25922421
-
Physical harm due to chronic substance use.Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2013 Jun;66(1):83-7. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2013.03.007. Epub 2013 Mar 28. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2013. PMID: 23542091
Cited by
-
Examining the Gateway Hypothesis and Mapping Substance Use Pathways on Social Media: Machine Learning Approach.JMIR Form Res. 2024 May 7;8:e54433. doi: 10.2196/54433. JMIR Form Res. 2024. PMID: 38713904 Free PMC article.
-
Psilocybin-assisted therapy for severe alcohol use disorder: protocol for a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 7-month parallel-group phase II superiority trial.BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Jan 26;24(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05502-y. BMC Psychiatry. 2024. PMID: 38279085 Free PMC article.
-
Consciousness alterations in a cohort of young Swiss men: Associations with substance use and personality traits.Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 4;13:1056159. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1056159. eCollection 2022. Front Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 36683973 Free PMC article.
-
Differences between users' and addiction medicine experts' harm and benefit assessments of licit and illicit psychoactive drugs: Input for psychoeducation and legalization/restriction debates.Front Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 16;13:1041762. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1041762. eCollection 2022. Front Psychiatry. 2022. PMID: 36465301 Free PMC article.
-
The Use of Psychedelics in the Treatment of Medical Conditions: An Analysis of Currently Registered Psychedelics Studies in the American Drug Trial Registry.Cureus. 2022 Sep 14;14(9):e29167. doi: 10.7759/cureus.29167. eCollection 2022 Sep. Cureus. 2022. PMID: 36259015 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical