this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2024
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Alcohol causing 20 times the harm of meth, police float tighter regulation (www.newshub.co.nz)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
58 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

TL;DR:

  • Alcohol $7.8b
  • All illicits: $1.8b
  • Meth: $0.365b

I wanted a figure for cannabis and found this from 2020:

PDF https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/the-nz-illicit-drug-harm-index-2020-10-feb.pdf

  • All illicits: $1.9b
  • Meth: $0.824b
  • Cannabis: $0.911

I notice that the per kilograms measure for harm is also useful to account for volume of usage, but think that per 'dose' would be better.

  • Meth: $1.1m per kg with 743kg consumption
  • Cannabis: $0.35m per kg with 58000kg consumption

These figures include 'associative crime' as harm. So it apparent counts the cost of buying it as harm, it also counts the tax loss of that expenditure, so IMHO it skews unfavourabley to higher expenditure. But put that aside.

These figures show that all illicit drugs combined are less harmful to society than alcohol, and tautologically the harm is inflated by illegality.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I promise you that meth would cause far more problems if it was consumed anywhere near the frequency of alcohol. Anyone who has watched someone destroy their lives with meth knows just how dangerous and damaging it is. The scariest part is the speed at which it can happen. People destroy their lives with alcohol too, but it usually takes decades. I've watched people become hollow shells of their former selves, completely unrecognizable, and standing on death's doorstep, within six months of their first usage of methamphetamine. It's a destructive, dirty, dangerous drug.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Pretty sure the police aren't saying let's sell meth at dairies, rather they are asking for more funding for alcohol harm reduction.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Statement retracted because I'm in the wrong community.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Check which community you're in. We have our own police problems but tanks aren't one of them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Also are Russian and Chinese police as famous for gunning down their citizens as the US? That comment was just all over the place, and I'm still not sure what country TexasDrunk was referencing..

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

TexasDrunk was drunk and didn't check the community. Statement has been retracted.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I'm not certain that's better. We would like to hear your reasoning so that we can understand other communities better.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Our police don't shoot drunks they just beat the shit out them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Especially the homeless and homeless veterans.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

The core of the argument is that we should be spending proportionate amounts on harm mitigation or prevention.