Drugs Officially Ranked by Harm Done

Protesting what they call an outdated and arbitrary system of drug classification in the U.K., British scientists have released a new system based on the harm done by each drug. Interestingly, alcohol and tobacco are in the top ten, while cannabis is not.

The new system ranks drugs within three categories:

• Physical - acute, chronic and intravenous
• Dependence - intensity of pleasure, psychological dependence and physical dependence
• Social harm - intoxication, other social harms, and health-care costs

Some well-known drugs scored as follows on the scales (listed as Drug - Physical, Dependence, Social harm):

• Heroin - 2.76, 3.00, 2.54
• Alcohol - 1.40, 1.93, 2.21
• Tobacco - 1.24, 2.21, 1.42
• Cannabis - 0.99, 1.51, 1.50
• Ecstasy - 1.05, 1.13, 1.09

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