alcohol is deadlier than ecstasy,says government s drugs adviser

[mopsie]

ALCOHOL IS DEADLIER THAN ECSTASY, SAYS GOVERNMENT'S DRUGS ADVISER
Alcohol is more harmful and causes more deaths than the drug ecstasy, a leading scientist who advises the Government on drug safety is warning.

Professor David Nutt, a senior member of the drugs panel which recommended the downgrading of cannabis, is calling for the current system of drugs classification to be widened, to reflect the dangers posed by excessive drinking.

The addiction expert says only 10 premature deaths a year in the UK can be blamed on ecstasy, compared with at least 22,000 attributable to drinking. He highlights the fact that alcohol is exempt from an official system of harm rating despite being the cause of 10,000 assaults a year, unlike ecstasy, which is not linked with violence.

Professor Nutt says in the latest edition of the journal Psychopharmacology that the Tory leader, David Cameron, is "correct in his logic" in suggesting that E, currently a class A drug, should be in a lower category than drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

The scientist, who chairs the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs ( ACMD ) technical committee, writes: "Why is ecstasy illegal when alcohol, a considerably more harmful drug, is not? When we consider that the possession of a drug that is much less dangerous than alcohol can lead to a seven-year prison sentence, whereas alcohol use is actively promoted, perhaps David Cameron did not go far enough."

But Professor Nutt's comments have enraged drugs prevention charities, who say he is wrong to compare the harm caused by drugs such as ecstasy with the effect on health from excessive drinking.

"Ecstasy kills at random and there is a lot of cumulative harm," said David Raynes from the National Drugs Prevention Alliance. "Although there is a lot of harm from alcohol, very few people just die from drinking alcohol, but they do die from taking E. If the Government does downgrade E, then it sends a signal that it's less harmful than it was before."


source mapt

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good find!

[Abrad]

"Ecstasy kills at random and there is a lot of cumulative harm," said David Raynes from the National Drugs Prevention Alliance. "Although there is a lot of harm from alcohol, very few people just die from drinking alcohol, but they do die from taking E. If the Government does downgrade E, then it sends a signal that it's less harmful than it was before."

I am 99% sure that more people die from alcohol and related problems that by
MDMA (the word "ecstasy" really has no meaning anymore IMO).
TBH I can't remember the last time I heard of somebody dropping dead from taking MDMA.

[klaatu]

Originally Posted by mopsie

Alcohol is more harmful and causes more deaths than the drug ecstasy, a leading scientist who advises the Government on drug safety is warning.

I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but they might as well have followed this "news" item with "Bear sh*ts in woods" and "Pope believed to be Catholic".

Alcohol more deadly than MDMA - who would have thought it.....



Ok, ok, ok I *know* that a story like that is probably considered to be controversial and shocking to their sheep-like readers. So, it's a *good* story to run.

Oh... I'm just sooo tetchy today.

Klaatu

[Nagognog2]

Professor Nutt is the head of the psychopharmacology department at the University of Bristol. He and his minions have been conducting an extensive study on MDMA usage in the worldwide drug subculture. One of his students posted a survey in these forums awhile back. I had occasion to exchange a few emails with him. He seemed sincere. But, alas, that was probably as "far-out" a story of some of their results as the tabloid press in the UK dared venture.

Such is the nature of a media that has such headlines as: "Baby Falls Down Well - Screaming All the Way! full story - pg. 3" (Daily Mirror)

[Nature Boy]

I wish the term ecstasy was thrown out. Ecstasy can mean any combination of drugs in a pill with the "possible" inclusion of MDMA. MDMA alone is a very safe drug compared to alcohol or the random cocktail pills known as E. This is typical manipulation of information. The Irish government pull the exact same bullshit stunt with cannabis citing the bad health effects of soapbar hash as the same effects of decent cannabis in general which is just a blatant lie.

[StigmataLectron]

Originally Posted by nature_boy_liam

I wish the term ecstasy was thrown out.

I wish Ecstacy were legal and quality-controlled mass produced, so that a label will show you what you're taking instead of having to trust a dealer. But alas, there's no FDA in the black market.