Legaliseringsguiden, genomgång av ... - PDF Archive

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The major acute risks of alcohol are similar to those of cannabis, namely those
associated with intoxication. Both drugs cause impairments in psychomotor and
cognitive function, especially memory and forward planning. Alcohol intoxication
increases the risks of being involved in road traffic and other accidents, as cannabis
probably does, but unlike cannabis alcohol tends to encourage aggressive behavior. It
is an important factor in domestic violence. Unlike cannabis, acute alcohol
intoxication can also be life threatening.
There are a number of health risks associated with chronic alcohol intake. These
include damage to the unborn child (fetal alcohol syndrome), increased risk of
cancers of the mouth and throat, serious damage and cirrhosis of the liver, and
permanent damage to the brain (KorsakofFs syndrome) leading to severe cognitive
impairments. Alcohol also causes dependence in some people and this is associated
with potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms when alcohol use is stopped.
The heavy use of alcohol can lead to serious impairment of work performance and
family life, and dependent users may become psychotic. Cannabis can also cause
cognitive impairments and some users may become dependent but the withdrawal
symptoms are relatively mild. In the United States more than 150,000 deaths each
year are attributable to alcohol abuse.
— "The science of Marijuana" av Leslie Iversen, professor i farmakologi vid
Oxfords Universitet
It is implied that cannabis is inherently more harmful than alcohol. This contradicts
received opinion. Unlike cannabis, alcohol in overdose can kill. Chronic alcohol abuse
has well-documented health risks, including liver disease and severe brain damage
leading to a form of dementia. Use by pregnant women also carries the risk of
damage to the foetus, leading to severe mental impairments. There is no firm
evidence that cannabis use carries any of these serious health risks. Several expert
groups that have compared the risks of alcohol and cannabis have concluded that
cannabis is less dangerous. As the Police Foundation's report last year stated: "When
cannabis is systematically compared with other drugs against the main criteria of
harm ( mortality, morbidity, toxicity, addictiveness and relationship with crime ), it is
less harmful to the individual and society than any of the other major illicit drugs or
than alcohol and tobacco". Cannabis produces a variety of well-documented shortterm
effects on perception, memory, thought and coordination, which might be
expected to compromise driving skills. Lady Greenfield suggests that it does so for
more than 24 hours after smoking, but the evidence for this is far from clear-cut.
There are many serious studies that show little or no effect on driving even during
acute intoxication. The association of cannabis with traffic accidents and deaths is
hard to interpret, as most of these also involve alcohol. And, just as for alcohol and
mobile telephones, evidence for an effect on driving would not argue for an outright
ban.
— Leslie Iversen, professor i farmakologi vid Oxfords Universitet & Colin
Blakemore, professor i fysiologi vid Oxfords Universitet [42]
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Vi anslutar med lite humor från komikern Bill Hicks:
Bill Hicks - Alcohol vs Marijuana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxJs0WQhGk
Läsvärt
Study: Alcohol Is “More Than Twice As Harmful As Cannabis” — So Explain Again Why Pot Is Illegal?
Cannabis: Debatten behöver inga rökridåer
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