Should alcohol be a class-A drug?

[AB Asks]

Experts have warned that alcohol is so dangerous to a person's health that it should be thought of as a class A drug. Cigarettes would be ranked as a class B drug. Is this just another utterly ridiculous plan to save ourselves from ourselves? With all the trouble alcohol causes from fights to unwanted pregnancies do you think it should be ranked as a class A drug?

[jake-the-peg]

Experts have not said that at all!

They have said that Alcohol is more harmfull that some class A drugs and that the whole A,B,C classification system should be replaced

The story is about 6 months old anyway see here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5230006 .stm

and seems only to have been given new legs because the Lancett has reprinted it.

I don't believe anybody is suggesting that Alcohol should be classified as a Class A drug and that you'll have to go find your frieldly neighbourhood pusher for a quick Bacardi and Coke

But maybe it's more fun to attempt to wind people up by twisting the news stories and poking fun at experts.

Can't we leave this sort of thing to the Daily Star?

[Grunty]

It is a bit older than six months. About 15 years ago I was a police officer and was involved in work with schools and youth organisations. I had a document which was printed sideways on A4 paper, written by someone whose medical qualifications would not fit on one line. It ranked drugs in two ways.

In terms of how likely the drug is to lead to the death of the user, it was Tobacco, alcohol, solvents, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine LSD and cannabis.

In terms of how addictive the drug is, the order was Tobacco, alcohol, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, LSD, solvents and cannabis.

Unlike the author of the document, I am not medically trained and therefore do not know whether she was right. I am also aware that the relative strengths of some of the drugs may have altered since then.

[Gromit]

AB Ed, This question has already been asked here

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question38 2829.html

[crete]

plagerism ?

[kwicky]

I think if we continually bait the public into thinking abstinence must be adhered to in every form, many will feel the only solution is to join a monastery

[jno]

that's interesting, Grunty, but I suspect alcohol kills a lot of peole who haven't drunk it - in car crashes, particularly - which would maybe push it higher up any danger list.

[stokeace]

well ive been a druggie for years then lol

[ll_billym]

You ask the question like drug classification actually means something in terms of the harm it does to you.

The classification system is only considered in court when deciding on a penalty for involvement in that substance.

No person on the street says "No thanks, I'm only a class B kinda guy" when offered class A drugs. The decision whether they partake or not is down to personal beliefs or knowledge of the effects of the drug, not what letter of the alphabet the government wishes to assign to it.

To classify alcohol as class A would effectively ban sale of it, i.e. prohibition. That is not going to happen, get real.

Sort your questions out.

[chimney]

I would like to see the working out for this case.

Did they compare absinthe to poor quality cannabis,
or babycham to pure heroin?

What good would come of reclassing?

Alcohol does not cause fights or pregnancies. It is the sheer greed and idiocy of the user(s)

[Pippa68]

My recovering alcoholic father has always said that alcohol should be a class A drug.

He has been dry for 5 years and although he has been on practically every drug in the past, including heroin & cocaine, he insists that alcohol is far more deadly..mainly because in comparison it is cheap & easily accessible.

Alcohol has given him more problems than any of the other drugs he has taken.