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Of course Alcohol is more dangerous than MDMA (Extasy) or LSD - most people who have taken these drugs have known this for years. Cannabis is more similar to Alcohol than other illegal drugs. The real dangers of ilegal drugs are bad/unknown quality goods and organised crime, both of which would be eradicated if all drugs were to be made legal. It is too easy for older people to sit in their comfortable homes and tell young people not to do drugs but it just won't work. When you are young you want to experiment and experience new things, and the irony of Alcohol and Tobacco being legal while other less harmful drugs are not is not wasted on them I can assure you. At the end of the day people should be free to make their own choices about drugs. The government could spend more time and money on education if they weren't so busy punishing people for using drugs.

Whilst it is useful to catergroise the harmful impact of drugs, legal or not, we have to remember that everyone reacts differently and has different predispositions. Whilst one person taking x amount of cannabis might experience cannabis induced phsychosis, another may not but may develop cirhossis of the liver when the other woudn't from a smilar pattern of drinking. None the less, we cannot continue to ignore there are far more deaths and costs to society are caused by alcohol than illegal drugs, yet virtually nothing spent on alcohol treatment. There is a long way to go to get alcohol recognised as the drug causing the most harm in our society.

Ted, you young whipper snapper you. You know nothing of ecstacy my boy, you can't even spell it. If you think legalising a drug which makes you youngsters wander about my garden on a sunday morning trying to "feel the love" you need your head examined my boy. Stick to the bevy son, never did me any harm

how dare you.

Martin Kerr haha you can't spell it either! It is spelt ecstasy, NOT ecstacy as you tried to spell it. You know nothing about alcohol. Alcohol is the only drug that can cause significant permanent structural brain damage which can cause dementia or korsacoffs syndrome not to mention all the cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms which are often irriversible. Alcohol is the most brain frying drug out there. Also alcohol was used during the first lobotomy's by psychiatrists because alcohol is so toxic it just kills brain cells on contact. Your age has not educated you by the looks of things. I am young myself and know more. No offense buddy.

[bold]Methods to prevent Alcohol Addiction[/bold] Treatment of alcoholism takes place in two steps: detoxification and rehabilitation. Detoxification involves helping a person to stop drinking and ridding his or her body of the harmful (toxic) effects of alcohol. Detoxification and Withdrawal Detoxification is often difficult because a person's body becomes accustomed to the intake of alcohol. When alcohol is no longer available, the body goes through a period known as withdrawal. The ease and success of withdrawal depends on the person's prior drinking habits. The amount of alcohol consumed on a regular basis and the length of time the person has been drinking determines the difficulty of the withdrawal process. Mild withdrawal symptoms may include nausea, achiness, diarrhea, difficulty in sleeping, excessive sweating, trembling, and anxiety. These symptoms often disappear in less than a week. Patients going through a mild withdrawal usually require no medical attention other than observation to see that their symptoms do not become worse. An individual who has been dependent on alcohol for a long period of time may experience more serious withdrawal symptoms. Such symptoms include fever, increased heart rate, high blood pressure, seizures, and hallucinations, which may take the form of delirium tremens (DT). A person suffering from DT has uncontrollable shaking, panic attacks (see panic disorders entry), and severe hallucinations. DT usually begin about three to five days after the patient's last drink and may last up to a week. During this time, the patient must be monitored. Patients going through serious withdrawal generally require medical attention. For example, they are often given sedatives to avoid the potentially life-threatening consequences of high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and seizures. Rehabilitation Rehabilitation may involve the use of both medications and recovery programs. Some chemicals act as a deterrent to drinking because when they interact with alcohol they produce nausea, vomiting, and other unpleasant physical effects. One drug that has been used with some positive results is disulfiram (pronounced di-SUL-fuh-ram; trade name Antabuse). Drugs by themselves are often not very effective, however, since they do not deal with some of the reasons that may have contributed to a person becoming an alcoholic. Recovery programs help alcoholics to understand why they abuse alcohol and to find ways to avoid drinking in the future. Some of the most effective rehabilitation programs involve peer groups in which recovering alcoholics meet regularly and provide support for each other. Perhaps the best known of these groups is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The AA recovery program is based on a 12-step model. These steps include the need to recognize the destructive power that alcohol has over an alcoholic's life, the damage that alcoholism has done to others involved personally or professionally with the alcoholic, and the need to turn to a higher power for help in overcoming the problem. Alternative Treatment The lives of alcoholics and those around them are quite stressful. Whether stress leads to alcoholism or is a direct result of alcoholism is up for debate. In either case, stress-relieving therapies may help a person avoid alcohol consumption. These therapies include massage, meditation, and hydrotherapy (water therapy). The harmful physical effects of alcoholism can also be treated by alternative therapies. Vitamins and mineral supplements, for example, can be used to treat malnutrition. The herb known as milk thistle is thought to protect the liver. Other herbs, such as lavender, skullcap, chamomile, peppermint, and yarrow, are believed by some to help an alcoholic through withdrawal. Acupuncture (a Chinese therapy technique where fine needles puncture the body) has also been recommended to decrease withdrawal symptoms and to prevent a return to drinking. -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- ------------------ Anil Yadav This is a comprehensive addiction portal focusing on topics of alcohol and drug abuse. http://www.alcoholad diction.org