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As per experts, alcohol scored so high because it is so widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them. Wim van den Brink, a professor of psychiatry and addiction at the University of Amsterdam, who was not linked to the study and co-authored a commentary in the Lancet, said, “Just think about what happens (with alcohol) at every football game.”
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro claims cocaine is no worse than alcohol, arguing its illegality is due to its origin in Latin America. A 2010 study ranked alcohol as the most harmful drug overall. Experts suggest targeting problem drinkers and raising alcohol prices rather than banning it.
Gustavo Petro is making some big claims and is not afraid to be vocal about them on public forums. The Colombian president recently claimed during a live broadcast of a government meeting that cocaine “is no worse than whiskey” and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America.
During a six-hour ministerial meeting — broadcast live for the first time – the leftist president said “cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whiskey.” He also added, “Scientists have analyzed this. Cocaine is no worse than whiskey,” suggesting that the global cocaine industry could be “easily dismantled” if the drug were legalized worldwide.
But, is this claim true? Is alcohol worse than cocaine?
According to a study released in 2010 by a group of British scientists, alcohol was rated the most harmful drug overall and almost three times as destructive as cocaine or tobacco.
For the study, which was paid for by Britain’s Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and was published online Monday in the medical journal, Lancet, British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.
A black man getting drunk (freepik.com)
Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families, and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison.
On the other hand, heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamines, or crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals. When considering their wider social effects and harm to others, alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy, and LSD scored far lower.
This ranking encouraged the scientists to say that aggressively targeting the harms of alcohol is a necessary public health strategy. They also mentioned that the current drug classifications had little to do with the relation to the evidence of harm. Just because cocaine and heroin are illegal doesn’t make them more dangerous.
What makes alcohol more harmful?
As per experts, alcohol scored so high because it is so widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them. Wim van den Brink, a professor of psychiatry and addiction at the University of Amsterdam, who was not linked to the study and co-authored a commentary in the Lancet, said, “Just think about what happens (with alcohol) at every football game.”
When drunk in excess, alcohol damages nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin. Besides, alcohol is the direct cause of various forms of cancer.
Even light to moderate alcohol drinkers are at risk. A study, published in the journal Addiction, provided evidence that alcohol is the direct cause of breast, liver, colon, esophagus, and other types of cancer. The researchers also mentioned that there is growing evidence, though not conclusive yet, that alcohol also causes skin, prostate, and pancreatic cancer.
Alcohol also causes fatty liver disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and alcohol hepatitis. These conditions can kill drinkers slowly and over many years.
Heavy drinking can weaken the heart and affect how oxygen and nutrients are delivered to certain organs in your body. Prolonged and excessive alcohol use can also interfere with brain function and structure.
Not to mention the secondhand events that occur like car accidents, DUIs, drunken injuries, toxic relationships, and destruction of property.
What’s the solution to alcoholism?
Although excessive alcohol consumption can be lethal to health, as per experts’ opinion – it wouldn’t be practical to outlaw it like cocaine, heroin, and other drugs have been.
Getting drunk at parties or workplace (welcometothejungle.com)
Leslie King, an adviser to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and one of the study’s authors, had said, “We cannot return to the days of prohibition. Alcohol is too embedded in our culture and it won’t go away.”
As per King, countries should target problem drinkers, not the vast majority of people who indulge in a drink or two. He also suggested governments should consider more education programs and raising the price of alcohol so it isn’t as widely available.
Colombia is the world’s biggest cocaine producer and exporter, mainly to the United States and Europe, and has spent decades fighting against drug trafficking.
Gustavo Petro said during the speech, “If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business (of drug trafficking). It could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.”
The Colombian President also pointed out, that fentanyl “is killing Americans and it is not made in Colombia,” referring to the opioid responsible for around 75,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to official data. In his words, “Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals” and those who consumed it “became addicted.”
Culled from Times of India
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