Choose Your Poison

There’s a lot of discussion going on about whether alcohol or marijuana is more dangerous. This columnist at the end of April 2011 asked his readers to vote their opinion. But first of all he listed a number of facts.

According the the National Institute on Drug Abuse, alcohol is far more lethal and toxic than marijuana. The fact used to prove this was that a person would have to drink ten times what it takes to get a “buzz” before they would die, whereas if they used ten times the marijuana it wouldn’t kill them. FOX news reported that there have been hundreds of deaths from alcohol poisoning, and none solely from the use of marijuana.

People just don’t overdose on it. There are 85,000 alcohol-related deaths each year. And one doesn’t usually find people committing sexual violence under the influence of marijuana, whereas alcohol is notorious for it.

If it’s starting to sound like maybe some of these statistics were brought to the forefront by people who like marijuana and want it legalized, you wouldn’t be far off the path. The writer Samuel Clemens (better known as Mark Twain) said that “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” One can spin them carefully to make one’s point, at times.

Those who think marijuana is safer continually point out all the problems from alcoholism, because essentially “alcoholism” is legal whereas marijuana use isn’t, except in some states for medical purposes.

But wait, the Office of National Drug Control Policy says that alcohol is safer than marijuana because it leaves the body quicker, and it is a purer substance. They also say that marijuana damages the lungs and causes cancer and damages the immune system (though some refute this) whereas alcohol doesn’t. Of course, from other articles we know that’s because the alcohol is too busy destroying the liver and the brain cells, and a few other parts.

And those who think alcohol is safer say that since there are far fewer people using marijuana, one cannot really find accurate statistics as to how many problems will be caused when and if the general population starts using it.

Overall, it seems rather like a heated discussion about whether hurricanes or earthquakes do more damage. We’d be better off without either.