Home Drink & Drugs
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

Drug League Table

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
The government is to be urged to consider a controversial plan to reclassify drugs according to the harm they do.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2026246,00.html

Have a look at the top 20 list, 1 being the worst and so on. Cannabis is at 11 and Ecstasy is at number 18, surly this should be the other way around? What do you think of this "drug league table"?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Alcahol above ketamine and solvents??
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Makoto wrote: »
    http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2026246,00.html

    Have a look at the top 20 list, 1 being the worst and so on. Cannabis is at 11 and Ecstasy is at number 18, surly this should be the other way around? What do you think of this "drug league table"?

    I don't tend to like these drug league tables because there's too many variables and it all depends on the individual.

    Regarding the ecstacy, I'm not surprised. It's a relatively safe drug, which doesn't have much potential for addiction. Cannabis is psychologically addictive. These tables are all constructed on the basis of how much it can be a detriment to your life. Habitual cannabis smoking is much more detrimental to someone's life than taking ecstacy from time to time IMO.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Alcohol is a very harmful and destructive drug if used innappropriately, to both the user and those around them.

    Ecstacy is relatively safe, though it does carry physical and mental harm to a user who takes it too much.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cant see how cannibis is so high like :S
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Evaporated wrote: »
    Cant see how cannibis is so high like :S

    Despite the fact that smoking damages your lungs, you also have to look at things like paranoia and the possibility of developing mental disorders if you're susseptible to them.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Alcahol above ketamine and solvents??

    Definately more damaging than Ket I woudl say.
    I think Solvents are pretty horrific though.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I read in that paper today that the people who did this 2 year study found that some illegal drugs, namely Ecstacy, Cannabis and Cocaine are used by many people every weekend without casuing harm to themselves or to other people. They say that the UK and USA have an outdated view of drug users and that they think taking drugs is a "peculiar habit of the demons of society", which is totally untrue.

    They said if the Law had a blank piece of paper now and had to rule up the classification system from scratch they would have to put alcohol and tobacco in the top 6. They also agree the UK will never be free of drugs and so they should support drug users instead of penalising them.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    The report they refer to can be found on the RSA website, here. They are an independent body and the report tries to remain unrestricted by current laws or thinking, and it makes for very interesting reading to say the least.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    LadyJade wrote: »
    The report they refer to can be found on the RSA website, here. They are an independent body and the report tries to remain unrestricted by current laws or thinking, and it makes for very interesting reading to say the least.

    It was good to see the government dismissing yet another report into the failure of the drug laws as they stand. The laws are working, apparently - how and where they didnt mention, but they are working.

    And the classification of mushrooms as a Class A drug was purely scientifically based and wasnt a moral panic at all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I like this table, but like Skive said, I don't agree with Solvents being so far down.

    It pisses me off when mates of mine who don't take drugs have a go at me and call me stupid for taking E when they go out and get paraletic on Vodka every friday night. Fucking twats. lol
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    With cocaine, surely that should be separated from crack and coke. Although same substance, i think the dangers are completely different and should be rated differently.

    Also what are barbiturates?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    deceelpool wrote: »
    With cocaine, surely that should be separated from crack and coke. Although same substance, i think the dangers are completely different and should be rated differently.

    That's probably why they put Cocaine so high up the table, because of Crack. Although yeah I agree they should be separated...coke should still be high up though, alot of users do under-estimate it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    what are barbituates?

    TheSite - Barbituates

    i find the idea of a drugs league table (like hierachical classification) completely stupid.

    There are at least two highly complex systems involved in drug use, ie: YOU and the particular substance you are introducing to it.

    Hierachical classification just encourages people NOT to understand the complex and delicate mechanisms at work, and just means that they'll work it out on how dangerous it is relative to the 'ultra bad drugs'.

    If you want to understand what is happening to you, and correspondingly if govt is truely worried about the health of users then they would take this approach.

    But unfortunately the politcal climate of the UK, as well as some international obligations precipitated by the 'War on Drugs' mean that we aren't able to affect change, because its not politically viable for an elected government to do so.

    Such is the inertia of democracy i am afraid :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    pill 'ed wrote: »
    That's probably why they put Cocaine so high up the table, because of Crack. Although yeah I agree they should be separated...coke should still be high up though, alot of users do under-estimate it.

    Yeah I would agree people under estimate it, i have before certainly .... but definetely a different ball game to crack.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    But unfortunately the politcal climate of the UK, as well as some international obligations precipitated by the 'War on Drugs' mean that we aren't able to affect change, because its not politically viable for an elected government to do so.

    Such is the inertia of democracy i am afraid :)

    Partly that, and partly that the british public are just thick and believe what they read in the Sun and the Mail.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    well then the people get the democracy they deserve perhaps?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    well then the people get the democracy they deserve perhaps?

    No, I deserve a much better democracy, its just the plebs who mess it up.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    What basis were the drugs classified on? Prevalence, harm, cost....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    Partly that, and partly that the british public are just thick and believe what they read in the Sun and the Mail.

    :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What basis were the drugs classified on? Prevalence, harm, cost....

    good question LJ, wonder if we could get hold of the brief for the research team that did this...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    "2. cocaine" - crack maybe i could go along with. but there is huge difference between the two.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There's not that much of a difference. Difference between lager and vodka maybe.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    otter wrote: »
    "2. cocaine" - crack maybe i could go along with. but there is huge difference between the two.

    It's the same drug pretty much. Crack is just a purer smokable form of cocaine.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    It's the same drug pretty much. Crack is just a purer smokable form of cocaine.

    Yes, but there are many cocaine addicts who lead a day to day life with a coke habit, whilst more (not all) crack addicts are unable to do so.

    I don't have any stats to refer to, but IMO more crime and anti-social activity (whatever that is classed as) is caused by crack users more than coke users.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    It's the same drug pretty much. Crack is just a purer smokable form of cocaine.

    It is the ability of crack to get to the brain a lot faster which is the key, the faster the spike in the brain level the more addictive a drug seems to be. Which is why of course chewing coca leaves is the least addictive form of all.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    good question LJ, wonder if we could get hold of the brief for the research team that did this...

    I would imagine it would be on the RSA website I linked to above. I guess I asked because I was trying to get people to think about the classification in context, otherwise the league table is pretty much meaningless.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    deceelpool wrote: »
    I don't have any stats to refer to, but IMO more crime and anti-social activity (whatever that is classed as) is caused by crack users more than coke users.

    I think cocaine is far more damaging to society, simply for the fact so many more people take it, many of which are quite ignorant of the damage it does.
    Weekender Offender 
Sign In or Register to comment.