Alcohol deaths= tens of thousands every year, Cannabis deaths = 0. Discuss

[user1478625507]

Weed chills, alcohol kills

[user1478625507]

BratFarrarsPony It is indeed, 23% of users are addicts compared to 12% for alcohol. I was shocked to read that however, because that means that 77% aren't. Alcohol withdrawal is actually more dangerous than heroin withdrawal however, but it usually takes years of abuse to get to that level of alcohol dependence.

[BratFarrarsPony]

yes I have used heroin quite a few times over the years and I am not addicted. It is not something I shout about in real life.
The last time was about 3 weeks ago....:(

[engineersthumb]

Cannabis is dangerous. It's dangerous because it it addictive and because of its phycological effects. It shouldn't be legalised using the argument "alcohol is bad too". Bottom line stop smoking dope and get on with your life.

[Believeitornot]

Let's not pretend that cannabis isn't a dangerous drug.

The sort of stuff that people are moving to is much more potent and causes all sorts of mental issues.

In some ways this could cost the NHS more than alcohol - ok so people die and to be brutal, they're no longer around. Cannabis users may have a longer drain on the economy.

Cannabis is getting more potent. It is therefore getting more dangerous. The long term effects will not yet be known.

[Kennington]

Well I agree cannabis is probably not a death certificate.
But smoking anything will damage your lungs. Cannabis makes a lot of people dopey and ineffectual to look after children or work, or go to school. As does lots of alcohol.
Strong stuff is associated with paranoid behaviour.
Anyway it isn't a competition neither cannabis not alcohol are going to make your life great!

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

I'm sure you do have a valid point in some ways OP. I personally have no idea why cannabis isn't prescribable for various medical conditions for example, as there seems to be clear evidence of it helping.

Taking heroin you've purchased on the street, in your own home or wherever, is very different to being prescribed controlled doses of diamorphine. In my experience (of working in healthcare) diamorphine is prescribed only as a last resort and often at the very end of life, where the benefits of effective pain relief obviously outweigh any risks of long-term addiction.

I do agree that alcohol can be devastating for some people and highly addictive. I have worked with people in their 50's and 60's who have been alcohol dependant for most of their adult lives and have pretty much nothing else but the bottle in their lives. The vast majority of adults can self manage their own alcohol intake without addiction or other problems occurring. Can we really say the same for most people who regularly use illegal drugs?

[throwingpebbles]

I dabbled in cannabis as a young adult. It is not benign, I have seen lives and mental health destroyed by it. I agree alcohol can do the same though...

[missyB1]

The title of this thread is a joke and illustrates the OP's clear ignorance.

[mamatiger2016]

OP you're a goady knob.

Two of my school friends got so screwed up by weed (smoked over a number of years) that they decided jumping off things (funnily enough, whilst they were both high) was a great idea and ended up killing themselves.

And you're telling us that cannabis doesn't kill people??? Do one. It affected their mental health, they didn't have pre existing conditions either so don't use that excuse.

Claims like this really hack me off. No you can't ban everything but cannabis isn't 'better' for you than alcohol, cigarettes or any other drugs.

[Memoires]

I have a debilitating condition which means I have chronic pain. I did, for a while, 'skin up a fat one' to deal with it, and yes, it worked for pain brilliantly. BUT I hated being stoned. I thought, my condition makes me exhausted so I sleep too much and it makes me muzzy headed, do I really want to spend money I haven't got on a drug that makes me even more muzzy headed and send me to sleep? No. My pain is treated how, fairly well, through prescribed meds, and my brain is active and Iam almost as alerts I was before I was ill.

I do think alcohol is one of the world's unsung evils. It seems fairly clear that cannabis is less dangerous, but that doesn't make it safe. I can also see that if it were controlled, quality assured and taxed it would be a big help to the State coffers.

Do I think it should be legalised? I have no idea. There does have to be a proper discussion backed up by facts and stats.