reducing harm of alcohol

In the recent past there has been much up-rise after the dismissal of David Nutt: Drug Adviser for the UK for indicating that alcohol is more harmful then cannabis, LSD and MDMA. All he is doing is practicing harm reduction by both telling the facts about the drugs and not going on myths. Nutt was going in the right direction but due to undue influence his presence is not welcome as he will end the drug war and thus for whatever reason the UK are becoming increasingly paranoid about drugs and their uses there although they have horrible problems with alcohol including violence.

This brings us to the harms of alcohol. I am not going to say we should prohibit it due to how bad it is but rather that we should put more controls on it while lessening those on the other less harmful drugs so that when people turn to using, they turn to something that won't hurt them as much.

We have to admit that drug use is part of being human and there isn't anything wrong with that. We have to begin to be truthful like Nutt was for speaking his mind about alcohol and that yes, it too is a drug and it is harmful. Most of our problems in society surrounding drugs is alcohol and tobacco.

While tobacco has received increased controls such as not being able to be visible to children, the next step is to be removed from having actors smoking all the time and having other tobacco products available without having the added chemicals. Tobacco is a natural plant like cannabis, opium and coca and has purpose however, the way our use has become has lead to it becoming very toxic and more addictive then simply just nicotine on it's own.

To begin reducing the harm done from alcohol, we have to stop promoting it. We shouldn’t do this for any drug, it should not be portrayed on TV as having great powers to turn you into a fashion model and a plastic surgeon as Captain Morgan claims “he” can do for you. We need to begin admitting that alcohol is a drug just like the illegal ones and therefore, we need to come to rational and pragmatic ways of dealing with drug use, abuse and addiction in society.