Comparing Tobacco And Alcohol With Illegal Drugs
Since the end of prohibition in the beginning of the 1900’s, alcohol consumption has become a socially acceptable form of behavior. Other drugs such as marijuana, psychedelics and recreational drugs remain illegal, yet there is evidence to suggest alcohol consumption is just as dangerous as some illegal drugs, if not more so. Many deaths caused by vehicle accidents are the result of driving while drunk. While a DUI attorney in Miami might be able to help you reduce the severity of an alcohol related charge, a DUI lawyer in Miami won’t be much help if you’re caught with possession of an illegal substance.
It is of course misleading to state that the most lethal drugs are alcohol and tobacco due to the fact that they kill the most people. While this is true, it’s obviously because alcohol and tobacco are the two most common drugs due to their legal status. Despite this, it has been stated previously that if nicotine and alcohol were brought in today as new drugs, they would be made illegal due to the harm they do to the body.
The effects of alcohol are easy to spot for anyone who’s had more than a couple of drinks. The damage to the brain, kidney and self-esteem of a person who’s drunk too much alcohol can be felt the day after in the dreaded hangover, the body’s reminder that alcohol is a poison. That’s not exaggeration, alcohol is an actual poison, and being tipsy is the body’s allergic reaction to this unwanted chemical in the body.
The effects of nicotine are not as easily noticeable to those who are addicted. The one negative effect of tobacco that is most easy to recognize is its addictiveness. It’s been stated that tobacco may even be more addictive than heroin. Such a statement might seem hyperbolic, but if you’ve known a pack-a-day smoker who’s been attempting to quit, or if you have been one yourself, you’ll know the willpower it takes to give up nicotine forever. So many items are currently for sale to help people quit smoking, from patches to support groups to meditation techniques, yet smokers will often admit they’ve tried to give up a number of times, unsuccessfully.
The more popular, and more lethal, drugs in use today include recreational drugs. These include ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine, speed and cocaine. These drugs provide a real “high” to the taker, giving them feelings of elation, a connectedness with everything around them and heightened levels of energy. Of course, the other side of this is the “crash” that occurs afterwards, which can be far more painful than the hangover from alcohol, and is often accompanied by a an addicts need to have more drugs.
In the 60’s, psychedelic drugs were seen as the trendy thing to do. Drugs like marijuana, LSD and “magic” mushrooms influenced a generation of artists, musicians and filmmakers, yet also led to the premature deaths of many of these people.
Drugs are without doubt better left alone, and should be used with extreme care, if at all. To say that alcohol and nicotine are somehow safer than illegal drugs simply because the law states we are able to have them is to make a grave mistake, as they contain chemicals that can be just as addictive and damaging to our mind and body.
