Drug Harm Scale

By Sandra Kiume
February 26, 2008

Image*

title Britain’s Most Dangerous Drug
description London’s Dana Centre Science Cafe hosted a webcast discussion after a BBC Horizon screening of Is alcohol worse than ecstacy? Psychopharmacologist David Nutt was lead author on a controversial study in The Lancet* comparing the harms of substances of abuse. He and psychologist Theodora Duka join facilitator Hugh Whittall to discuss the issues. “How do the brain and body react to each stimulant as it passes into the bloodstream, and what are the long-term effects of drugs relative to their [legal] classification? If the current classification should be changed in view of the latest findings, what exactly is Britain’s most dangerous drug?” Discussions and a BBC web poll mostly judge it to be alcohol (last noted at 35%, ranked above heroin and tobacco).
producer BBC Horizon, and the Science Museum
featuring David Nutt, Theodora Duka, Hugh Whittall
format Quicktime
date 05/02/08
length near 01:00:00
link http://www.danacentre.org.uk/events/2008/02/05/360
doi 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60464-4

* NUTT, D., KING, L., SAULSBURY, W., BLAKEMORE, C. (2007). Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse. The Lancet, 369(9566), 1047-1053. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60464-4 (includes Figure 1, above)

Tags: brain webcast neuroethics addiction drugs alcohol psychopharmacology violence danger law harm bioethics