The 20 Most Dangerous Drugs
A team of leading scientists have spent two years analysing the effects of 20 of Britain’s most widely used drugs, and have devised a scientifically rigorous – and controversial – new ranking for them.
The BBC’s Horizon programme has followed their research and looks at the science behind the headlines.
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 classification?
If the current classification should be changed in view of the latest findings, what exactly is Britain’s most dangerous drug?
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4/5
bbc documentary that hurries through britains top 20 drugs.
popularized, shallow entertainment for the average.
as the title doesn’t let anyone expect much of an interesting insight,
the documentary fulfills it’s duty.
you get to see “statistics” of the substances such as deaths per year, user numbers and prices, but never the big picture.
you don’t get to see molecular processes, studies, using techniques or trip-stories as they are only shown irregularly throughout the documentary.
- 1 pt. for not showing and explaining each drug equally.
their top 20 is flawed, there is no way cannabis is more harmful than huffing solvents or ingesting GHB. Street E is often mixed with amphetamines and fillers and who knows what (doesn’t mean it’s deadly, or even very harmful if taken occasionally in reasonable doses, but it’s more harmful than pure MDMA and accurate dosage is difficult). As X said, it’s more based on plain statistics and a handful of expert opinions than real science or users accounts and knowledge.
The creators of this documentary have obviously never experienced a drug induced state. Laughable.
I agree extremely rushed. My biggest concern was that amphetamines like crystal meth wasn’t higher up on the list.
LSD is bad **** man, Just look at the terror on that womens face! Forget that **** man. They never covered “bad trips” etc. Oh man forget about those!!!!!!!!!!
If I was goining to therapy the last thing Id want is to be tripping….
meh, it could have been worse like, LSD isnt so bad in comparison to a lot of other **** tho.. Weed tho shouldnt have even been on the list
marijuana is illegal cause big pharma can’t put a patent on it.
Another fact on marijuana is the Seed is One of The Most Nutritious Substances scientifically known to Man. In my opinion “Quit smokin that ****! Your fryin your brain with all the NEUROTOXINS in the fertilizers Dude!” Leave that work for the MERCURY in the Vaccines and the FLOURIDE in toothpaste and water.
“Unh K!”
I think presenting the drugs was kind of subjective.I can agree that drugs which are tolerated have become pretty dangerous but I can never agree that smoking marijuana or cannabis(by the way I never was psychotic by smoking this and even if I would have been I can’t consider this classifies you for schizophrenia, it’s all exaggerated) is that bad while the enormous amount of drugs that are used pharmaceutically are covered up.
For example in cannabis I had to listen for ten minutes how harmful it is while in some pharmaceutical ones it barely says anything.Maybe the state should rethink again who’s to blame for being addicted because I think there are far many people dying in mental hospitals because of so called good purpose drugs than smoking crack for a good mood.
I would’ve expected more scientifically based opinions or at least more comment for people who tried all those stuff and they know which is the most lethal.By the way nobody commented on experiencing pharmaceutical drugs.It’s COVER UP!!!
wtf are they talking about putting cannabis at number 11? cannabis have never killed anyone. in fact it takes 40,000 times what is considered 1 hit of marijuana to overdose, making it the lease harmful drug in the world. khat being placed at number 20 is complete b*******, khat is almost as bad as coccaine, it was used by somalians in what was called “Black Hawk Down” not the movie, but what happened in real life when the US special forces tried to take down Aidid, but failed, because teh somalians were fearless, and agressive because of the drug.
it made them extremely aggresive, and played a huge part of the somali victory. marijuana has been scientifically proven to not increase the chance of lung cancer, and also has been proven to not cause any brain damage, unless you smoke it or eat it in large amounts, daily. caffeine has been scientifically proven to be more dangerous than cannabis. ecstacy is a date-rape drug, it is commonly used in raping people and they place it at number 18? they must have been tested too much drugs by the time they finished this list.
I don’t remember seeing mushrooms on the list at all…
I dunno, maybe I was high. I was just surprised that it didn’t get attention.
ok the way they tested the cannabis was by taking pure thc that’s 100%, in even the best strains of cannabis there is at most 5% thc. They did practically the same thing on monkeys during the 60′s in the U.S. by Dr. Robert G. Heath, only back then they didn’t have the means to extract pure thc so they attached gas mask’s to the monkeys and fed the smoke through that way, the monkeys smoked more than they’re own body weight a day. Within a few months all the monkeys died, these scientific “experiments” show what would happen with unreal abuse, you can die from overly abusing anything. you could do the test that they did with any substance and “prove” its harmful, hell you could do it with cookies, force feed the monkeys cookies by putting a tube in their throat and feeding in mashed up cookies with water, after 3 months when they have heart attacks you say cookies have been linked to heart failure they are to dangerous to be allowed legally. thats excately the type of test’s they did in this documentary and in the 1960′s by Dr. Robert G. Heath.
well put “yo wtf”
weed shouldnt have even been on the list!
this documentary is pathetic
I used to smoke cannabis and I wish I could again but only the organic home grown. The only problem I find with cannabis is the fact that our politics-governments wont legalise this wonderful plant. Cannabis being sold illegally usually gets mixed by the dealers for profit- the brown hashish that floods our streets in Ireland. contaminated with glue-plastic and sometimes heroin. It’s no wonder some people have bad feeling towards cannabis. I did a project in college about cannabis and some didn’t even know the difference between hashish and the real plant! It’s our laws that effect the minds of the young and users of cannabis. If made legal for home grown use as in Spain-Holland-Brussels.. whats the harm in allowing someone to grow a healthy organic plant in their own home? sometimes I feel living here on erath is hell..it’s so unfair :(
Marijuana kills people BECAUSE it is illegal and thus a black market commodity. Look at Juarez and El Paso….
This is very ********. Cannabis at 11?! I have been smoking pot every day for a long time and I have had no ill effects. I recently read a report from NORML that inhaling marijuana smoke is medically safe and effective at reducing the pain caused by certain nerve conditions. I also read that the statements about mj causing severe psychological problems were extremely overstated. They shouldn’t of even put that on the list, and who is that 1 recorded death from marijuana? Since is physically impossible to die from overdose and it doesn’t cause cancer.
This is one of those alarmist programs that induce mothers to search their teen’s room.
It does seems that drugs are cheaper in the UK, so expect a large migration from the States any day now. And don’t say I didn’t warn you- addicts here are very motivated individuals.
What they fail to tell you is that each and every drug is dangerous in its own way.
I WANT SEX AND OXYS YEAH MHM!
Good to see that science and rational thinking are debunking the drug myths that “normal” society is so fanatical about.
Way to short, obviously, needed to have about 15min per drug really.
One issue that was never really raised was the dangerous effect create by a drug being illegal. This leads to cutting with all sorts of ****, substitution, and unknown dosage. This is a key player in why many drugs lead to death.
Well done though.
yeah amphetamines should’ve been number 2 and cocaine number 8.
List seems flawed. As someone who did over 100 tabs of acid and over 100 hits of E in his time, the idea that lsd is more harmful than E is pretty laughable. To whoever made that call: how about you take 50 pills of E, and I’ll take 50 tabs of acid, and we’ll see who is alive to see the sunrise…
I think it’s quite funny how a majority of commenters below disagree with the list. I’m sure certain drugs can move positions given a specific situation, but as a whole I am going to have to trust distinguished scientists over random people on the internet. It’s amazing how people will let their personal feelings blind them.
I am suprised that Psilocin didnt figure in the list of 20. I havent tried it though. It is an alkaloid derivative from magic mushrooms found to give hallucinogenic effects
I’m a therapeutic helper in our Detox center for 3 years. I’m an ex-addict myself.
To say that cannabis is not harmful was true 10 years ago.
Nowadays it’s not cannabis anymore cause there is nothing natural in it.
Here we welcome more and more people suffering from strong cannabis disorder due to high THC level.
So stop this communication : If good old “Ganja” looks ok. NO ! white widow, purple haze, K2… are NOT.
i cant see how methamphetamine isnt classified as one of the most dangerous drugs. As well as its extremely addictive nature the withdrawel symtoms are what makes it so dangerous as these can include acts of insanity and extreme violence which therefore put others in servere danger. In New Zealand meth is commonly known as P and it has a huge effect on crime rates due to people commiting acts of crime in order to get their fix.
In my opinion meth with its combined addictiveness and aggresive nature is the most dangerous drug in the world.
Also cannabis shouldnt even b close to 11.Although it is the most commonly used illegal drug it is virtually impossible to overdose and there have never in the history of the drug being any direct deaths caused by consumption
As a registered Clinical Pharmacist in the USA, I must say, this is the most flawed list I’ve ever seen. In the USA, Tobacco/Alcohol(the only LEGAL drugs) are the most dangerous(statistically, hands down). Heroin(your #1-diacetylmorphine) IF LEGAL, made to pharamaceutical standards and labeled and dispenesed properly(i.e. Sweden), it is quite safe(causes NO long term end organ damage). And to have cannabanoids even make this list is just simply wrong. You CANNOT start rating the relative danger of different drugs unless legality is completely taken out of the equation(otherwise you start with a complete legal/social bias). I would really like to see the accredited, peer reviewed medical journal study from which this video clip’s info was culled. I’m guessing there is none, or if there is, it is an opinion article, not valid peer-reviewed research. You’ve definitely done a good job of frightening the masses enough to keep the ridiculous Drug War going for some time longer. Bravo.
To all these losers that said Cannabis is not a dangerous drugs, they are wrong. How many people after a bad trip end up to mental hospital… and they never find they normal state of mind… They good thing about Cocain is that it kills you right away… But with psychotic drugs you will suffer for the rest of your live… Drugs dont do they same effect on everyone,, they effect everyone differently.
Mr Xmen,
Your seriously ********.
@ Phra Erik:
“suffering from strong cannabis disorder”
That made me laugh my *** off :)
Strong cannabis is good cannabis, it means we have to consume less of it to get the desired effects. I guess i’m suffering from “strong cannabis disorder” because I smoke almost half an ounce of “strong cannabis” everyday!
Legalise! Legalise! Legalise! It’s only IGRONACE that keeps this wonderful plant behind bars! Only Muppet kinda people ignor us cannabis users. I work in Fitness & Health. I also do voluntary work. Then one night I’m out 5 drunk people that don’t know me beat me and a friend up. To this day I have never did bad on anyone. I now am left deaf and suffer with tinnitus from my acttack cause by drunken violence-drunken violence-drunken violence-drunken violence… The only paranoia with cannabis is the fact that I can’t frrely smoke it as I’d be a criminal under are strict laws in Ireland. That is why I spend as little as possible in my country. I will go to Spain-Holland & Brussels. Where one can grow legally at home for personal use:) I will bring these kind countries wealth when possible. Irelands laws suck while the good people suffer. Shame On you ignorant people. The world was born with these plants. For us to use. What about for medical use?? If you mothers are paranoid about your teens.. Then legalise to over 21s? Keeping cannabis illegal causes growers to contaminated their plants- this is where the problem lies. There are some strains that only have a body feel usually more natural grown in the sun-wind & rain. Keep the faith people xx
Hi there I wanted to edit my post.. I sent my mistake before I got to edit… Please could you delete my post as I made some spelling errors. I was badly attacked by drunk volience as a result I find it difficult with spelling, reading- writing-coordination & balance. I need a joint right now.. anyone got some? plzzzzz..ok here we go again!
Legalise! Legalise! Legalise! It’s only IGRONACE that keeps this wonderful plant behind bars! I work in Fitness & Health and I also do voluntary helping people where i can. I did nothing bad on anyone up to this day. I’m too passive for my own good. 5 years ago I was out one night with my friend who was over from france when 5 drunk people that don’t know us, beat us and they where very drunk. As a result I’m now deaf and also suffer with tinnitus 24 hours from my attack caused by drunken violence on our streets. The only paranoia with cannabis is the fact that I cannot freely smoke it as then I’d be a criminal under our strict laws here in Ireland.
Now I need to medicate myself and travel to countries like Spain-Holland & Brussels as their laws are more relaxed towards cannabis use. Under their laws one can legally grow in their own home for personal use 3 felmale plants:) I will bring these kind countries wealth when possible as Irelands laws are too suck up towards many things this is why I spend as little money as possible here. Why this Black& White mentality it’s so outdated. Shame On you ignorant people to ignor us cannabis users. What about my other friend who is wheel chair bound who also is a user? Or my friend who feels more relaxed who has ADHD from it’s soothing effects. If parents are paranoid about their kids using cannabis.Then our laws could at least legalise it to over 21s to have better control? Keeping cannabis illegal causes growers to contaminated their plants- this is where the problem lies. There are some strains that only have a body feel. I find these plants usually are natural grown that grew outdoors in the sun, wind & rain. Keep the faith people xx
What they never said in the doc, was all of these drugs when used properly and only now and then can be a good time and no real long term affects. And the fact that Meth wasn’t #1 was way wrong and if it wasn’t at the time it soon will be. Blow and weed should have been way lower in the list. I think the key word in the entire program should have been moderation!! The women said 3 smokes and you’re addicted for life that’s bs!
But I’d have to say my worse trip ever was off pot brownies, even worse than the time I was wasted, on 3 hits of e and then drop a hit of lsd thinking it was e, took me half a day to recover just to function barley normal and form proper senses at all. Just wait until Hastings street in Vancouver switches from H to meth..better bring in dawg the bounty hunter.
Cannabis was way to high! Even the guy who administered that b.s. test said the results were likely not similar to smoking cannabis.
why is weed #11. first off how many people inject 100% THC to get high? NO ONE DOES THAT….EVER. thats probably why that guy felt paranoid. They should have had him smoke it. Weed dosent cause people to rape so why isnt the date rape drug not much higher? And the video said that when it is combined with alcohol you could die. This video was prolly made by the government
no one has ever died from cannabis use, and its been smoked thousands of years bc- the second they claimed that 1 person dies a year in the UK i knew they werent gonna do it unbiased, didnt even mention one of the positive aspects- they also stopped using their own criteria
This list is such a joke. Solvents are considered safer than cannabis, alcohol, and buprenorphine….lol. Plus they said buprenorphine had hallucinogenic affects…are they serious?
obviously all of you people that say weed shouldn’t be on this list are only saying that cuz you are users. Open your eyes! c’mon
Sure marijuana has some limited positive uses,… but it is still dangerous… psychosis …schzitzophrenia.. cancer addiction… it is addictive, i dont know any weed smokers that dont smoke it on a regular basis
Okay. I know a lot of you are bashing this list, especially for putting weed as number 11, but the main thing here is that they placed some legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco higher than X, LSD, and cannabis. It gets the point across. Sure, it isn’t as accurate as I would’ve hoped, but it’s still well-done and gets the main idea communicated: that tobacco and alcohol are much more harmful and that our system of drug illegalization should be rethought.
But yeah, there are some major flaws. Weed shouldn’t be 11, especially if solvents are 12. Solvents are extremely harmful, and only give a three-minute high. Meth should be included in this list and should be number 1. Tobacco should be higher. Ketamine was placed at 6th place only for having a lethal overdose, but if you’re smart about it you won’t overdose. Amphetamines shouldn’t be 8 – they should be higher. And cocaine shouldn’t be 2. Cocaine is bad, but it should be slightly lower.
I’ve seen some people saying weed shouldn’t be on the list/shrooms aren’t on the list, which is good. But it’s based on popularity, not harm. They picked the 20 most popular drugs and then arranged those. Shrooms aren’t in the 20 most popular, and either way, they aren’t harmful. Weed should be on this list because it’s popular and this list only includes popular drugs, but it should be lower.
Sorry, I realize this is poorly written, I’m kind of rushed. Main point: This list has some flaws, but at least it made some people who watched it realize the much more major flaws that the legal system has.
Cannabis on #11 is absolutely wrong. It is considered a drug only because its illegal but if it were not then it would be just part of our normal diet – oil, seeds, and even small amount of thc in our daily food. I find LSD to be safe as you can not die from an overdose but it’s use should be ritualized. It is not a recreational drug. Meth is one of the biggest killers should be number 2 and cocaine #5-6. Psilocybin is not included as well as mescaline and muscarine all of these hallucinogenic and possibly dangerous if used in a bad set&setting.
This list is in my opinion very wrong
cannabis in moderation is the key! yes i do agree with it being a drug. I just cannot believe that mary j is worst than lsd and e. I had a friend in college that took 1 tab of acid and a handful of shroomie’s(mushrooms in newfoundland canada) and he ended up in the hospital freeking out. seeing sounds and hearing colors is what he described to me! 3 months he was in a mental ward on some type of pills to control his mood swings. He now is a Lt. in the canadian army.
To make a long story short. Drugs kill. We all know that most people do them to escape the daily problems, some are for medical reasons im sure,
and how is tobacco still legal??? before it was just tabacco. now they have so many drugs in the tobacco its crazy to even think about smoking.
also, it could be smoothed out, but i believe this to be a more accurate list
its based more on the immediate dangers of something bad happening ie things that need to be injected are rated higher
the ones at the bottom when used too often are the least dangerous in my opinion
(top being most dangerous)
steroids
solvents
ghb
heroin
methadone – injected
buprenorphine
alkyl nitrite
methylphenidate
barbituates
4mta
amphetamines
MDMA
benzodiazepine
cocaine
methidone – pill
LSD
tobacco
alcohol
khat
weed
although i do know that with overall deaths and health problems alcohol and tobacco are at the top
The reason that crystal meth is not in the documentary is because it is hardly seen at all in the UK, and so not abused to anything like the extent that it is in the USA or Australia, say.
Despite what the title would have you believe, the documentary is really a list of 20 of the most commonly used recreational drugs in this country, ranked by harm. It’s not a list of the 20 most dangerous drugs full stop.
Where is diphenhydramine?
Well that was disappointing, espicially with Professer Nutt involved. Turned it off when it said that cannabis causes 1 death a year, considering that it takes 15,000 joitns smoked in 15 minutes to create a toxic enough effect to kill! (although i do challenge anyone to try that haha)
If cannabis causes cancer why do they prescribe it to cancer patients.
Well it’s obvious that anyting smoked often will cause lung cancer. Especially when you wrap it in paper. It’s not like the majority vaporize the cannabis to minimise the risks.
And they discover this now? wow.