Non-League Henry Landers (striker)

Which drug contributes the most in terms of general violence, domestic violence, road deaths, family break ups and costs the NHS the most? Alcohol. If you drink alcohol you advocate consuming one of the worst drugs in terms of negative impact on society there is. So yes you really do!
I don’t disagree that alcohol can be brutal and causes no end of the problems that you have described. But similarly, thousands/millions can consume alcohol in a sensible, non addictive way and not be a danger to themselves, their families, or the public in general.

I would hazard a guess that if you replaced pubs with drug cafes and alcohol consumption was replaced with cocaine, society would end up with a far greater problem.

As a % of consumption to detrimental impact, Cocaine surely has to be far more damaging?

Just my opinion, as someone who enjoys a drink but has never taken drugs or smoked.
 
I don’t disagree that alcohol can be brutal and causes no end of the problems that you have described. But similarly, thousands/millions can consume alcohol in a sensible, non addictive way and not be a danger to themselves, their families, or the public in general.

I would hazard a guess that if you replaced pubs with drug cafes and alcohol consumption was replaced with cocaine, society would end up with a far greater problem.

As a % of consumption to detrimental impact, Cocaine surely has to be far more damaging?

Just my opinion, as someone who enjoys a drink but has never taken drugs or smoked.
Yes but lots of people that take cocaine, cannabis and yes even heroin etc live functional and normal lives. Going to work etc and living normal lives. You would be surprised. Some studies like one in the Lancet in 2010 ranked alcohol as more harmful than cocaine. These type of studies are not perfect but It's not a given that Cocaine as a percentage of use is more harmful but you may be right, I don't know, really hard to judge as much of the issues with illicit drugs are what other substances are added to them. Similarly some drugs like cannabis and ecstasy are almost certainly less harmful than alcohol even if they were legalised. My main point is not that other drugs don't have harms, they do, but rather those that consume alcohol, itself a drug with lots of harms, are not really in a position to judge others for their choice of drug. Cocaine was just the illicit drug discussed here but there are many others and there is a debate to be had regarding legalisation and licensing, focusing on producing legal safer versions like with alcohol.
 
Last edited:
Yes but lots of people that take cocaine, cannabis and yes even heroin etc live functional and normal lives. Going to work etc and living normal lives. You would be surprised. Some studies like one in the Lancet in 2010 ranked alcohol as more harmful than cocaine. These type of studies are not perfect but It's not a given that Cocaine as a percentage of use is more harmful but you may be right, I don't know, really hard to judge as much of the issues with illicit drugs are what other substances are added to them. Similarly some drugs like cannabis and ecstasy are almost certainly less harmful than alcohol even if they were legalised. My main point is not that other drugs don't have harms, they do, but rather those that consume alcohol, itself a drug with lots of harms, are not really in a position to judge others for their choice of drug. Cocaine was just the illicit drug discussed here but there are many others and there is a debate to be had regarding legalisation and licensing, focusing on producing legal safer versions like with alcohol.

I take your point.

I guess the perfect example from my point of view is that I happily enjoy a beer, glass of wine, gin, whisky etc, but fail to understand why anyone would want to smoke a cigarette or inject/snort/pop a drug.

Sort of ironic if I think about it.
 
Yes but lots of people that take cocaine, cannabis and yes even heroin etc live functional and normal lives. Going to work etc and living normal lives. You would be surprised. Some studies like one in the Lancet in 2010 ranked alcohol as more harmful than cocaine.

The point I missed in yr post was about illicit drugs being impure (actually this is a necessity as they are too strong to handle when initially refined - look at siddiqui in Saudi). You're right but the 'cutting issue' can be resolved by managing the supply chain.

William S. Burroughs included an appendix to The Naked Lunch about his own 'cure from heroin in the UK in the 60s. Google John Yerbury Dent.

Dr Dent, working within the NHS, used a drug called apomorphine which was prescribed to heroin addicts for some years. The result was that the UK had some hundreds of addicts while the USA, which adopted a 'war on drugs', only making their use illegal without treatment, had tens of thousands.

Dr. Dent's solution was abandoned in place of persecuting addicts, which created a fertile environment for trade in heroin and made the trade in the drug profitable. So cocaine, so cannabis; so here we are.

The problem with alcohol is that it will never be controlled because a. It generates taxes and b. Lots of the people who own the country are staying minted because it's easy legal money. And, a war on drugs, like any war funds the armies playing at it and reads well in the Daily Beast.
 
I don’t disagree that alcohol can be brutal and causes no end of the problems that you have described. But similarly, thousands/millions can consume alcohol in a sensible, non addictive way and not be a danger to themselves, their families, or the public in general.

I would hazard a guess that if you replaced pubs with drug cafes and alcohol consumption was replaced with cocaine, society would end up with a far greater problem.

As a % of consumption to detrimental impact, Cocaine surely has to be far more damaging?

Just my opinion, as someone who enjoys a drink but has never taken drugs or smoked.
I think a certain fear of drugs exists from those who have never taken them or been in an environment where drugs are taken. In part thanks to scaremongering and the continued expensive war on drugs.

Of the people I know who take drugs, they all do it recreationally and have rarely had an issue with it. The only adverse effects come from the odd dodgy pill, which is thanks to the drugs market being underground and unregulated. A legalised, regulated market would make drug taking a lot safer because people would know exactly what they're putting into their bodies, rather than gambling when taking a high.

Not that I'm saying you should take some, but once you've taken drugs or know friends who do, then you'll soon realise the war on drugs is bullshit and it's no less dangerous than alcohol consumption. Not to say it can't be dangerous or become a problem for some people, but the fear is massively overblown.
 
I think a certain fear of drugs exists from those who have never taken them or been in an environment where drugs are taken. In part thanks to scaremongering and the continued expensive war on drugs.

Of the people I know who take drugs, they all do it recreationally and have rarely had an issue with it. The only adverse effects come from the odd dodgy pill, which is thanks to the drugs market being underground and unregulated. A legalised, regulated market would make drug taking a lot safer because people would know exactly what they're putting into their bodies, rather than gambling when taking a high.

Not that I'm saying you should take some, but once you've taken drugs or know friends who do, then you'll soon realise the war on drugs is bullshit and it's no less dangerous than alcohol consumption. Not to say it can't be dangerous or become a problem for some people, but the fear is massively overblown.
The problem is partly from describing totally different things as just ‘drugs’, and as you say from not knowing what’s in them. Imagine having to go to bootleggers for your booze.
 
The problem is partly from describing totally different things as just ‘drugs’, and as you say from not knowing what’s in them. Imagine having to go to bootleggers for your booze.
And when alcohol was banned during prohibition, many people did. Then that ammendment to the constitution was repealed when the government realised it was unenforceable and fuelling the rise in organised crime.
 
Swear he came on for Banbury against Barrow, but think he must have fallen down a hole in the pitch as appears to have disappeared.
 
Back
Top Bottom