Drug Related Health Costs

[Crunchy]

source: http://blog.norml.org/2009/11/17/do-the-ma...-any-questions/

 

Tobacco-Related Health Costs: $800; Booze-Related Health Costs: $165; Pot-Related Health Costs: $20 — Any Questions?

November 17th, 2009 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

 

 

[Editor's note: This post is excerpted from this week's forthcoming NORML weekly media advisory. To have NORML's media advisories delivered straight to your in-box, sign up for NORML's free e-zine here.]

 

Health-related costs per user are eight times higher for drinkers than they are for those who use cannabis, and are more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers, according to a report published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal.

 

According to the report, “In terms of [health-related] costs per user: tobacco-related health costs are over $800 per user, alcohol-related health costs are much lower at $165 per user, and cannabis-related health costs are the lowest at $20 per user.”

 

The review, authored by researchers from the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia at the University of Victoria and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse at the University of Ottawa, stated: “Alcohol is used by a very large number of people with the vast majority of these using in low- or moderate-risk ways. Conversely, cannabis and tobacco are used by far fewer people. The majority of cannabis use is low- and moderate-risk, however, while the majority of tobacco is high-risk.”

 

The study reported that social costs applicable to marijuana are primarily “enforcement-related.”

 

The authors concluded: “The harms, risks and social costs of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco vary greatly. A lot has to do with how the substances are handled legally. Alcohol and tobacco are legal substances, which explains their low enforcement costs relative to cannabis. On the other hand, the health costs per user of tobacco and alcohol are much higher for cannabis. This may indicate that cannabis use involves fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco.

 

“These variations in risk, harms and cost need to be taken into account as we think about further efforts to deal with the use of these three substances. … Efforts to reduce social costs related to cannabis, for example, will likely involve shifting its legal status by decriminalizing casual use, to reduce the high enforcement costs. Such a shift may be warranted given the apparent lower health risk associated with most cannabis use.”

 

According to a recent Rasmussen national poll of 1,000 likely voters, Americans believe by more than two to one that alcohol is “more dangerous” than marijuana.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Crunchy

[bufo marinus]

I wonder how many stoned people glassed each other with a bong last month? Indeed last year? Indeed over the last fricken decade!?

 

Bong related glassings? Got those numbers handy anywhere Crunchy?

[Crunchy]

I wonder how many stoned people glassed each other with a bong last month? Indeed last year? Indeed over the last fricken decade!?

 

Bong related glassings? Got those numbers handy anywhere Crunchy?

 

If i requested the info from a government department i'd prob get a fabricated number bufo

[Infinitee]

I don't remember bongs costing me or anyone else twenty dollars in health?

Never have had to use medicare for any bong-related issue (is there any?!)

 

The health crime is that I have to work twice as hard as I'd like, just to afford a single, illicit, plantbased luxury in life.

And we all know whose fault that is

 

If the 'harm-minamilistic' govt would just susbsidise vapourisers ...

 

One day.

[mistyville]

I always enjoy reading your posts Crunchy and Bufo. This sort of information should be out there in the public Australian media

[Crunchy]

cheers misty, a lot of the articles i post are from the norml website, they also have lots of other great info and news. www.norml.com