English psychiatrist David Nutt published in 2008 an article in which he assessed the harm of narcotic substances by 16 criteria.
Criteria for selecting
The dangers of drugs are assessed according to 9 "damage criteria", which give an idea of the harm they cause to the health of the individual.
Action on the person
The rating of dangerous drugs was compiled on the basis of how they affect the person, namely:
- death from the use of the drug;
- mortality caused by admission - reduction of life, cancer, HIV;
- effects of admission for health - diseases of internal organs, mental disorders, cirrhosis, ulcer;
- harm to health caused by drug use - domestic injuries, self-harm, promiscuous sexual intercourse;
- rate of dependence formation;
- mental disorders caused by drugs;
- lifestyle changes, emotional disorders associated with the use of funds;
- disappearance of interest in socially significant values, loss of interest in education, work, housing, material comfort;
- severance of related, friendly relations.
Drugs negatively affect not only a single person. The massive nature of their use makes this phenomenon dangerous for society as a whole.
Action on
society David Nutt summarized the physical, social harm of drugs for society in terms of disadvantage:
degree of distress, misery brought by addict to surrounding people, danger of spread of viral diseases, AIDS;
- increase in crime caused by drug use;
- contamination with drugs, environmentally friendly waste;
- assessing the disadvantages for the family - breaking off of marital relations, giving up children;
- harm from drug use for the state - the growth of crime, instability in the world;
- economic costs of states and the world community as a whole on maintaining a medical and penitentiary system to deter crime;
- the impact of the drug on society.
All of the above 16 criteria were evaluated on a 100-point scale for each drug, the most harmful was chosen as the criterion for comparison.
Final results
The final result, allowing to quantify the result of the study, is made up of two components:
- for assessing the harm of a drug for a person;
- damage to society.
According to experts, the first place was alcohol, which scored a total of 72 points. This psychoactive substance is leading in danger for the environment, the prevalence of the phenomenon. According to statistics on the conscience of alcohol, 90% of all deaths caused by drug use.
Undoubtedly, if alcohol appeared now, it would be recognized as a dangerous narcotic compound, it was outlawed. Unfortunately, all over the world, ethyl alcohol is not considered a drug, there is even a "culture of consumption" of this substance.
Mortality, destruction of health and personality in this case is higher than when taking alcohol. Fortunately, buying heroin or cocaine is more difficult than alcohol, these dangerous drugs lose to ethyl alcohol in terms of prevalence, availability.
Any ratings are subjective, always depend on the opinion of experts. Consider this list of psychoactive substances you need, as one way of analyzing the consequences of drug use.
According to a later study conducted by two groups of independent specialists, the rating of dangerous narcotic drugs looks different.
Selection criteria for this study were selected:
- physical harm to humans;
- ability to cause dependency;
- prevalence of the drug.
In the top five most dangerous were: heroin, cocaine, barbiturates, methadone, alcoholic beverages.
Characteristics of harmful narcotic substances
Although the drug risk criteria, prevalence in the countries of the world differ, the properties of drugs are unchanged. Psychoactive poisons do not understand which social stratum a person belongs to, how much money he has in his account, in what country he lives.
Heroin
Heroin refers to opiates, causing rapid addiction. The absence of heroin causes a severe breakdown.
85% of the world's heroin stock is produced in Afghanistan. The drug is injected, sniffed, smoked - for any use, heroin dependence may occur after a single dose. It is difficult to get rid of heroin dependence, brain destruction does not leave the possibility for the drug addict to resist, to resist the approach of death.
On the video about the danger of heroin:
Dezomorphin
Synthetic drug dezomorfin is addictive for 1-2 uses, restricts the life of the addict to 2 years. The common name "crocodile" is quite consistent with the nature of this drug, literally devouring its victim.
After using desomorphine, a person remains disabled, even if he manages to overcome withdrawal, get rid of addiction. The body of the patient rotates alive, gangrene develops. The drug kills swiftly, leaving almost no chance of survival.
Spice
Synthetic drugs spikes, similar to cannabinoids, are used to impregnate smoking mixtures. They present a danger of accessibility, seeming harmless.
Street methadone
The drug is administered intravenously, street methadone is injected with a large amount of impurities. Street methadone refers to "dirty" drugs with unpredictable effects.
The dependence is formed after 1-2 injections, there is a high probability of overdose.
Cocaine
Cocaine powder, made from coca leaves, causes the addict to take it, exciting pleasure centers in the brain, whipping up the body. The harm lies in the fact that the drug causes dependence, attempts to stop taking cocaine cause a breakdown.
It's difficult to part with cocaine even for pregnant women. Drug addicts are born children, from the first breath dependent on the drug, doomed to breaking, ugliness, pain from the first minutes of life.
On the video on the dangers and effects of the drug cocaine:
Barbiturates
Barbiturates include depressants, which are used as hypnotic, sedatives. This group includes such drugs as amytal, nembutal. Dependence develops with uncontrolled use of drugs.
Barbiturates enslave people with a clingy crochet - withdrawal syndrome. The danger of depressants is caused by a commutative effect - the drugs accumulate in the body.
Ketamine
Ketamine refers to psychedelics, sold in pharmacies, easily accessible to adolescents. The drug is used for anesthesia, and drug addicts use it as a hallucinogen.
Ketamine causes depression, disorientation in space, when used with alcohol can lead to death.
A controversial assessment is given to methadone. The drug is used in a number of countries for dependence therapy, although it is a strong psychoactive drug.
Methadone
A synthetic psychoactive drug was created for use in the substitution therapy of heroin dependence. However, the expectations of pharmacists did not materialize, they created a new drug, which occupies a leading position in the ratings.
Rating of the most dangerous drugs
For the CIS countries, the rating of dangerous psychoactive drugs is as follows:
- heroin;
- desomorphine;
- spice;
- street methadone;
- cocaine;
- ketamine;
- benzodiazepine;
- amphetamine;
- tobacco;
- buprenorphine;
- marijuana;
- solvents, adhesives, paints;
- 4 MTA;
- LSD;
- methylphenidate;
- anabolic steroids;
- GHB;
- ecstasy;
- come on;
- khat.
The harm of each drug can not be underestimated, any of them is dangerous. With uncontrolled, unjustified application, even ordinary food can bring harm. It is even more dangerous to experiment with yourself, using poisonous chemical compounds that destroy intelligence.
The video shows the 10 most dangerous drugs in the world: