Tag: Drug harm

According to a landmark study in The Lancet, when considering overall harm to both the user and to society, alcohol is the most harmful drug, followed by heroin [1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.6.5]. This article explores the complex answer to 'Which two drugs cause the most harm Quizlet?'.

Globally, tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs account for millions of deaths and lost years of healthy life annually [1.5.4]. The complex question of **which is the least harmful drug** depends on how 'harm' is defined, with scientific analyses often challenging public perceptions and legal classifications [1.3.1, 1.2.3].

According to a 2017 Global Drug Survey, psilocybin mushrooms had the lowest rate of hospital admissions among recreational drugs studied, highlighting the complexity in determining which drug is the least damaging, as risk depends on various factors beyond legality. There is no single drug without any potential for harm; instead, risk is a multi-faceted assessment determined by a drug’s mechanism, dose, and an individual’s health.

While alcohol is responsible for 3 million deaths worldwide each year [1.2.6], the answer to 'What is the most hazardous drug?' is complex. The danger of a substance depends on whether the metric is overdose lethality, long-term health damage, or overall societal harm [1.3.1].

In 2021, approximately 296 million people worldwide used psychoactive drugs, raising the crucial public health question: what is the least harmful drug? [1.5.1] The answer, however, is far from simple and depends heavily on how 'harm' is measured.