4 ms·

I think we are on the same page here. I just want to emphasise that for example alcohol and tobacco are magnitudes more abused than any other substances, 10x to

I think we are on the same page here. I just want to emphasise that for example alcohol and tobacco are magnitudes more abused than any other substances, 10x to be exact: Results: Alcohol was the most frequently used substance, with a 30-day prevalence of 70.5% (36.1 million people), followed by non-opioid analgesic drugs (47.4%; 24.2 million) and conventional tobacco products (22.7%; 11.6 million). E-cigarettes were used by 4.3% (2.2 million) and heat-not-burn products by 1.3% (665 000). Among illegal drugs (12-month prevalence), cannabis was the most frequently used (8.8%; 4.5 million), followed by cocaine/crack (1.6%; 818 000) and amphetamine (1.4%; 716 000). Rates of problematic use among the study participants were 17.6% for alcohol (9.0 million), 7.8% for tobacco (4.0 million), 5.7% for psychoactive medications (2.9 million), and 2.5% for cannabis (1.3 million). From https://www.aerzteblatt.de/int/archive/article/226333/The-use-of-psychoactive-substances-in-Germany-findings-from-the-Epidemiological-Survey-of-Substance-Abuse-2021 https://www.aerzteblatt.de/int/archive/article/226333/The-us... So yes weed is dangerous but alcohol is more than 10 times as dangerous- this nuance is often lost in public debate

lukan 2y ago
"but alcohol is more than 10 times as dangerous" That is quite subjective and not solid data. At least I am not aware of a scientific consensus in that regard. Alcohol is just more widespread because it was legal and part of the culture, so more abuse there. But this context here is about how that might change with the legal status.
- portaouflop 2y ago
  From Bundesgesundheitsministerium: Laut dem Alkoholatlas 2022 des Deutschen Krebsforschungszentrums ( DKFZ ) starben in Deutschland im Jahr 2020 rund 14.200 Menschen (davon 10.600 Männer und 3.600 Frauen) an Krankheiten, die ausschließlich auf Alkoholkonsum zurückzuführen sind. That are 14200 deaths solely due to alcohol in Germany every year — the only figure I found for cannabis was about 1-200 - so it’s more than 100 times more dangerous if you only look at official death statistics — this is as solid as the data gets. Sure things might change with legalisation— but looking at the Netherlands the opposite is most likely the case. So yea I retract my earlier statement— alcohol is not 10 times more dangerous, it’s >100 times more deadly. This doesn’t even account for all the accidents and other injuries related to alcohol.
  - lukan 2y ago
    By that logic fentanyl is quite harmless in germany, because there are allmost 0 deaths so far. But that is simply because it is not widespread (yet).

lukan 2y ago

"but alcohol is more than 10 times as dangerous" That is quite subjective and not solid data. At least I am not aware of a scientific consensus in that regard. Alcohol is just more widespread because it was legal and part of the culture, so more abuse there. But this context here is about how that might change with the legal status.

portaouflop 2y ago
From Bundesgesundheitsministerium: Laut dem Alkoholatlas 2022 des Deutschen Krebsforschungszentrums ( DKFZ ) starben in Deutschland im Jahr 2020 rund 14.200 Menschen (davon 10.600 Männer und 3.600 Frauen) an Krankheiten, die ausschließlich auf Alkoholkonsum zurückzuführen sind. That are 14200 deaths solely due to alcohol in Germany every year — the only figure I found for cannabis was about 1-200 - so it’s more than 100 times more dangerous if you only look at official death statistics — this is as solid as the data gets. Sure things might change with legalisation— but looking at the Netherlands the opposite is most likely the case. So yea I retract my earlier statement— alcohol is not 10 times more dangerous, it’s >100 times more deadly. This doesn’t even account for all the accidents and other injuries related to alcohol.
- lukan 2y ago
  By that logic fentanyl is quite harmless in germany, because there are allmost 0 deaths so far. But that is simply because it is not widespread (yet).