Drug harmfulness
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (November 2015) |
Drug harmfulness is the degree to which a psychoactive drug is harmful to a user. Drug harmfulness is measured in various ways, such as by addictiveness and the potential for physical harm. More harmful drugs are called hard drugs[2] and less harmful drugs are called soft drugs.[3] The term "soft drug" is considered controversial by its critics as it may imply that soft drugs causes no or insignificant harm.[3]
Drug policy
The distinction between soft drugs and hard drugs is important in the drug policy of the Netherlands, where cannabis production, retailing and use come under official tolerance, subject to certain conditions. The Dutch Opium Law contains two lists of drugs, List I and List II, that are colloquially considered to be lists of hard and soft drugs, respectively. Other countries typically have more than two categories. For example, the US has five schedules in the Controlled Substances Act, ranging from one through five. The UK has three classes in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: A, B and C.
Hard and soft drugs
According to the legal system of the Netherlands, selected soft drugs are tolerated legally while other hard drugs are illegal.[4] Soft drugs can be tolerated in various ways whether it be total lack of regulation or some regulation but still legal availability to the public.
Gallery
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An analysis of drug dangers. -
A chart of drug harm analysis. -
A Rational harm assessment of drugs. -
An analysis of the dangers of drugs.
See also
- Gateway drug theory
- LD50
- Effective dose (pharmacology)
- Drug policy of the Netherlands
- Designer drug
- The Rhetoric of Drugs
Sources
- ^ Taylor, M.; Mackay, K.; Murphy, J.; McIntosh, A.; McIntosh, C.; Anderson, S.; Welch, K. (24 July 2012). "Quantifying the RR of harm to self and others from substance misuse: results from a survey of clinical experts across Scotland". BMJ Open. 2 (4): e000774–e000774. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000774. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ Thomas Nordegren (2002). The A-Z Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Parkland, Fla.: Brown Walker Press. p. 327. ISBN 1-58112-404-X.
- ^ a b Thomas Nordegren (2002). The A-Z Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Parkland, Fla.: Brown Walker Press. p. 597. ISBN 1-58112-404-X.
- ^ https://www.government.nl/topics/drugs/contents/how-does-the-law-distinguish-between-soft-and-hard-drugs
