Alcohol Is the Worst Drug in the United States
Alcohol is more harmful than any other drug. Despite this fact, alcohol is still legal in the United States. There are many types of illegal drugs that are well known for their harmful consequences to humans but it is, in fact, alcohol that causes more harm than all of the illegal substances. A 2010 study by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs ranked alcohol as “most harmful” drug on a list of 20 drugs. Alcohol ranked higher than crack and heroin when the potential harm to individuals and others was examined. Alcohol causes physical, psychological and social problems.
Alcohol is a depressant that affects every part of the human body. Alcohol affects the part of the brain that controls coordination, memory, judgment and decision-making. Each year, more than 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from underage drinking. Another 1,900 die from car accidents. And still more people die from alcohol-related homicides, suicides and other alcohol-induced accidents. Alcohol costs the U. S. over 184. 6 billion dollars in 1998, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This cost was more than the estimated cost of all other illegal substances put together-$143. billion-during 1998. Although alcohol has been dubbed the most harmful drug, it is not the drug that does the most harm to an individual. In fact, alcohol earned this dubious honor because of the effect that alcohol has on the people around the alcoholic. Herion, crack cocain and metamfetamine are much more harmful to a person’s body than alcohol is. In a later study in the British Medical Journal, alcohol was found to be the fourth most dangerous drug after heroin, crack and crystal meth. This same study deemed alcohol to be the second most dangerous drug to society.
Some people say that alcohol should be banned. Despite the overwhelming evidence that alchol is very bad for indivduals and their loved ones, alcohol remains legal in the U. S. During the 1920’s the US banned alcohol during a time called Prohibition. This policy is considered to have been a failure because it lead to more organized crime, increased alcoholics and negatively impacted the economy. Alcohol continues to be advertised on television and radio, apparently enticing people to continue to buy and drink alchol. Alcohol will always be legal. Alcohol is a big part of our American culture.
It is embraced and celebrated by people of all ages every day. Our country is not prepared to make the consumption of alcohol illegal. Doing so would clog the court systems, lead to corruption of officials and cripple the U. S. econmy due to the lost tax money generated by the sale of alcohol. People do need to be educated on the dangers of alcohol so each person can make the best decision for themselves and their family, which would be to avoid alcohol all together.
References
- Alaraki, M. (2010). Alcohol is society’s most dangerous drug. Retrieved from http://www. dailyfinance. om/2010/11/01/alcohol-is-societys-most-dangerous-drug/
- Nutt, D. J. , (2010). Drugs harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis. The Lancet 376(9752), 1558-1565. Doi: 10. 1016/50140-6736(10)61462-6
- Grohol, J. M. (2010). Alcohol the Most Dangerous Drug? Probably not. Retrieved from http://psychcentral. com/blog/archives/2010/11/01/alcohol-the-most-dangerous-drug-probably-not/
- Neurobonnkers. (2012). The largest ever study in to drug harms places alcohol in the top four. Retrieved from http://neurobonkers. com/2012/08/06/the-largest-ever-study-in-to-drug-harms-places-alcohol-in-the-top-four/
