Matrix of harm for drug abuse
A new study published in the Lancet proposes that
drugs should be classified by the amount of harm that they do, rather than the
sharp A, B, and C divisions in the UK Misuse of Drugs Act.
A new study published in the Lancet proposes that drugs should be classified by the amount of harm that they do, rather than the sharp A, B, and C divisions in the UK Misuse of Drugs Act.
The new ranking places alcohol and tobacco in the upper half of the league table. These socially accepted drugs were judged more harmful than cannabis, and substantially more dangerous than the Class A drugs LSD, 4-methylthioamphetamine and ecstasy.
Professor David Nutt from the University of Bristol, Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, and colleagues, identified three main factors that together determine the harm associated with any drug of potential abuse:
- the physical harm to the individual user caused by the drug
- the tendency of the drug to induce dependence
- the effect of drug use on families, communities, and society
Within each of these categories, they recognized three components, leading to a comprehensive 9-category matrix of harm. Expert panels gave scores, from zero to three, for each category of harm for 20 different drugs. All the scores for each drug were combined to produce an overall estimate of its harm.
Drug use details will vary from one country and culture to another. Still, does anyone think that lawmakers might do something rational with this information?
Posted: Mon - March 26, 2007 at 05:47 AM