Alcohol Vs Marijuana
Which is more detrimental to the British public?
(all information used is as close to government sources as I could possibly find to avoid unauthentic issues raised & questioned)
Alcohol
“The Strategy Unit’s analysis last year showed that
alcohol-related harm is costing
around £20bn a year, and that some of the harms associated with alcohol are getting
worse.”
Tony Blair (statement published 2004 so is with regards to 2003)
(
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-file...olstrategy.pdf)
(Note:This financial figure will have an offset due to the revenue tax & duty charges on imported alcohol of which as of yet I cannot find a valid government figure for.)
In 2007, the male alcohol-related death rate was 18.1 deaths per 100,000 population, more than twice the rate for females of
8.7 per 100,000. Males accounted for approximately two-thirds of the total number of deaths. There were
5,732 alcohol-related deaths in men and 2,992 in women. The rate of male deaths has almost doubled from 9.1 per 100,000 population in 1991
(
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1091)
The annual cost of alcohol misuse includes:
• 1.2m violent incidents
(around half of all violent crimes);
• 360,000 incidents of domestic violence (around a third) which are linked to
alcohol misuse;
• increased anti social behaviour and fear of crime – 61% of the population perceive
alcohol-related violence as worsening;
• expenditure of £95m on specialist alcohol treatment;
• over 30,000 hospital admissions for alcohol dependence syndrome;
• up to 22,000 premature deaths per annum;
• at peak times,
up to 70% of all admissions to accident and emergency
departments;
• up to 1,000 suicides;
• up to 17m working days lost through alcohol related absence;
• between 780,000 and 1.3m children affected by parental alcohol problems; and
• increased divorce - marriages where there are alcohol problems are twice as likely
to end in divorce.
(
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-file...olstrategy.pdf)
Marijuana
Currently, the number of cannabis users in the UK is estimated at
more than three million.
(
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1605.pdf)
Studies have varied in the methods used to detect psychotic symptoms.
Only one study has had the statistical power to assess whether
cannabis use precedes the onset of an illness that meets the full
diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia.
The Council concluded that the evidence supports a causal association
between the use of cannabis, in adolescence, and the later development
of schizophrenia; although the evidence for this relationship is clearly
more complicated than when it considered this previously.
The Council also considered that the evidence supporting a dose-response
relationship was more persuasive than previously. The Council remains
uncertain about whether early cannabis use, before the age of 15 years,
is associated with an additional increased risk.
Nevertheless, the
magnitude of the effect of cannabis use on the subsequent development
of schizophrenia does not appear to be substantial, in the population as
a whole, with the cannabis preparations used during the late 1990s.
The peak incidence of schizophrenia in males (aged 20 to 24 years) is
approximately 15.9 per 100,000 person years, and in females (where
the peak incidence is at age 25 to 29 years) the peak incidence is 7.5
per 100,000 person years. Assuming that heavy users of cannabis
have a two-fold increased risk of developing schizophrenia, based on the
model discussed earlier, it can be estimated that the increase in
annual risk:
• for males (aged 20 to 24 years) would be 1 in 3,100 to 1 in 1,900;
and
• for females (aged 25 to 29 years) would be 1 in 9,900 to 1 in 5,300.
(
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publi...08?view=Binary)
(NOTE: although no Government statistics have yet been published on this website that show annual deaths relating to Marijuana consumption alone, a link between cancer and smoking in general is understood to be quite high.
Also its worth mentioning Gordon Brown made reference to
"lethal" strains of Cannabis on British streets on GMTV's morning show around the time of re-classification which contradicts having no figures or statistics to show anyone having died from what is labeled as lethal)
(NOTE: No government figures could be found on this website detailing the cost or financial burden of Marijuana consumption alone to the British tax payer through policing measures to combat Marijuana neither any figure as to the cost to the NHS, although I understand there is some economical benefit derived from fines issued as a penalty for possession of cannabis)
Bookmarks