Is Alcohol Worse Than Crack Cocaine?

I recently read this article in the Winnipeg Free Press entitled “Alcohol worse than crack”. It talked about a new British study that assessed how destructive many substances, including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, LSD, ecstasy, and marijuana were to the individual and to society. Some of the criteria that the rankings of these substances were based on were how addictive it is and the damage it can cause to the human body, as well as many other criteria, including damage to the environment and to families around the world. The study concluded that heroine, crack cocaine, and crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals, but that alcohol is overall more damaging, as it is much more widely used and causes not only harm to the individual, but to those around them as well. It also showed that drugs like marijuana, ecstasy, and LSD were much less harmful to the society as a whole. The study goes on to conclude that alcohol is connected to higher death rates and crime rates than any other drugs, and is therefore “worse” or more “dangerous” than these other lethal drugs.

I am fully aware of all the damage alcohol can cause to the organs of the human body and the negative social effects it can have; however, I feel as though the article’s title is misleading. Yes, I agree that this particular study showed that OVERALL, alcohol causes a larger number of consequences when looking at the effects on society rather than the individual; but, I think this article may be the cause of even more negative consequences. The majority of people do not think alcohol is all that bad, as it is a widely accepted part of our society. Even in the article it says that “alcohol is too embedded in our culture and it won’t go away”. If one of these people in the majority of the population read this article, that basically – as the title reads – says that it is worse to drink alcohol than to take illegal drugs like crack cocaine and crystal meth, they will be inclined to think that if alcohol is okay, and alcohol is WORSE than crack, then crack is okay too. In this way, I think it is important to distinguish the difference between the effects a substance can have on the individual and the effects a substance can have on society, instead of just making a general and, in my opinion, misleading statement, like “alcohol is worse than crack”.

While it is true that alcohol can cause many negative affects on not only the body of the individual, but on society as well (for example, traffic accidents and deaths related to driving while intoxicated), it IS possible to drink alcohol at a safe and responsible level; whereas, it is NOT possible to consume illegal drugs like crack cocaine and crystal meth at a safe and responsible level.

Here is the article that I read in the newspaper, called “Alcohol worse than crack”: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/alcohol-worse-than-crack-106469568.html. What are your thoughts on this article? Does the article make a fair statement in comparing the negative effects of alcohol and other drugs?