http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance ... 40-6736(10)61462-6/abstract
Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis
Prof David J Nutt FMedSci a , Leslie A King PhD b, Lawrence D Phillips PhD c, on behalf of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs
S u m m a r y
Background
Proper assessment of the harms caused by the misuse of drugs can inform policy makers in health, policing, and social care. We aimed to apply multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) modelling to a range of drug harms in the UK.
Methods
Members of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, including two invited specialists, met in a 1-day interactive workshop to score 20 drugs on 16 criteria: nine related to the harms that a drug produces in the individual and seven to the harms to others. Drugs were scored out of 100 points, and the criteria were weighted to indicate their relative importance.
Findings
MCDA modelling showed that heroin, crack cocaine, and metamfetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals (part scores 34, 37, and 32, respectively), whereas alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others (46, 21, and 17, respectively). Overall, alcohol was the most harmful drug (overall harm score 72), with heroin (55) and crack cocaine (54) in second and third places.
Interpretation (- -)
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C o m m e n t
Ranking of drugs: a more balanced risk-assessment
Jan van Amsterdam a, Wim van den Brink b c
Adolescents have a natural drive to investigate the unexpected, and experiencing the effects of recreational drugs, either licit or illicit, is part of that drive. However, the use of such drugs might not only result in physical and mental harm for the user, but can also present great burdens to society, such as aggression, car accidents, criminality, poverty, job absence, and health-care costs. Different regulatory approaches have therefore been used to restrict the adverse effects of licit and ... (- -)
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