British docs rank dangerous drugs; guess where alcohol and tobacco rank?

By: PM
Published On: 3/23/2007 1:16:21 PM

I am presenting this purely for informational purposes because I know some RK readers have a strong interest in drug policy.  A group of British doctors, writing in the Lancet, have ranked commonly abused drugs according to their danger.  Here's a graph, with explanations below.  (Danger highest on left side of graph.)

http://news.bbc.co.u...

_42718419_drugs_graph2_416

The researchers said the Brit's ABC grading system was too arbitrary, and failed to give specific information about the relative risks of each drug.

Professor Leslie Iversen, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences group considering drug policy, said the new system was a "landmark paper".  He said: "It is a real step towards evidence-based classification of drugs."

Here's the glossary explaining what's in some of the categories.

GLOSSARY
Benzodiazepines: Wide-ranging class of prescription tranquilisers
Buprenorphine: Opioid drug used in treatment of opiate addiction
4-MTA: Amphetamine derivative sold as 'flatliners' and ecstasy
Methylphenidate: Amphetamine-like drug used to treat ADHD
Alkyl nitrites: Stimulant often called amyl nitrites or 'poppers'

I'm no expert in this area (or in any area, some might say) so I can't justify or explain any of these findings.  Just thought you'd like to know.

Comments



ADHD Medicines (connie - 3/25/2007 2:35:19 PM)
I once heard a speech by someone who said he had first gotten addicted to Ritalin in college.  Until that moment, I never even knew it was addictive.  Yet I know many parent have been encouraged to give it to their children who also have no idea of is addictive properties and propensity for abuse.


ADHD medicines are well-labeled as stimulants (Andrea Chamblee - 3/25/2007 10:47:21 PM)
FDA has gathered all the product labels here.  There are newer drugs for ADHD that are not stimulants.

I urge everyone to ask their pharmacist for the product label - and NOT the goofy crap the pharmacies put together that is attached to the bag. Those are NOT the FDA-approved instructions. There have been cases where those have left out critical information.