Alcohol a Bigger Threat to U.S. Youth Than Drugs
inmytree
Posts: 4,741
Go figure...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060629/hl_hsn/alcoholabiggerthreattousyouththandrugs
Alcohol a Bigger Threat to U.S. Youth Than Drugs
52 minutes ago
THURSDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Alcohol abuse by minors results in almost 3,200 deaths a year -- four times more than deaths due to all illegal drug use combined, a new study finds.
Underage drinking also costs the United States $62 billion each year, the researchers found.
Despite these numbers, policymakers remain focused on the impact and prevention of drug use in minors, rather than alcohol, the study's authors said. The budget for anti-drug use by America's youth is nearly 25 times that of public funds earmarked for the prevention of alcohol use.
"Alcohol-related traffic crashes, violence, teen pregnancies, STDs, burns, drownings, alcohol poisoning, property damage and other risks take a human and economic toll that's much greater than illegal drugs. Yet, we spend so much more on youth drug abuse," study author Ted Miller, director of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), said in a prepared statement.
Miller's team at the PIRE Public Services Research Institute in Calverton, Md., found that a large number of minors are drinking great quantities of alcohol. In fact, the study showed that underage youth consume at least 16 percent of all alcohol sold in the United States, a number the researchers called conservative.
The costs of underage drinking come from a variety of sources, with expenses linked to traffic accidents alone totaling roughly $13.7 billion per year.
"Drinks in bars, drinks in cars, drinks stolen form Mom's liquor cabinet: The average harm from a kid's illegal drink is $3," said Miller. "That's far more than the 85-cent price tag those drinks carry. It dwarfs the 10 cents in taxes we collect or the 40 cents in profit the alcohol industry reaps," he said.
Miller said poor legal enforcement is a major factor in the underage drinking epidemic, and that stricter regulations and inspections of institutions where alcohol is sold would cut the amount of alcohol getting into minors' hands. Improvements in identification and age-verification, driving curfews, zero-tolerance laws and regulations placing liability on parents who allow underage drinking in their home would also help control the problem, he said.
The study is published in the July issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060629/hl_hsn/alcoholabiggerthreattousyouththandrugs
Alcohol a Bigger Threat to U.S. Youth Than Drugs
52 minutes ago
THURSDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Alcohol abuse by minors results in almost 3,200 deaths a year -- four times more than deaths due to all illegal drug use combined, a new study finds.
Underage drinking also costs the United States $62 billion each year, the researchers found.
Despite these numbers, policymakers remain focused on the impact and prevention of drug use in minors, rather than alcohol, the study's authors said. The budget for anti-drug use by America's youth is nearly 25 times that of public funds earmarked for the prevention of alcohol use.
"Alcohol-related traffic crashes, violence, teen pregnancies, STDs, burns, drownings, alcohol poisoning, property damage and other risks take a human and economic toll that's much greater than illegal drugs. Yet, we spend so much more on youth drug abuse," study author Ted Miller, director of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), said in a prepared statement.
Miller's team at the PIRE Public Services Research Institute in Calverton, Md., found that a large number of minors are drinking great quantities of alcohol. In fact, the study showed that underage youth consume at least 16 percent of all alcohol sold in the United States, a number the researchers called conservative.
The costs of underage drinking come from a variety of sources, with expenses linked to traffic accidents alone totaling roughly $13.7 billion per year.
"Drinks in bars, drinks in cars, drinks stolen form Mom's liquor cabinet: The average harm from a kid's illegal drink is $3," said Miller. "That's far more than the 85-cent price tag those drinks carry. It dwarfs the 10 cents in taxes we collect or the 40 cents in profit the alcohol industry reaps," he said.
Miller said poor legal enforcement is a major factor in the underage drinking epidemic, and that stricter regulations and inspections of institutions where alcohol is sold would cut the amount of alcohol getting into minors' hands. Improvements in identification and age-verification, driving curfews, zero-tolerance laws and regulations placing liability on parents who allow underage drinking in their home would also help control the problem, he said.
The study is published in the July issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
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in 2000
deaths per year attributable to-
Tobacco: over 300,000
Alcohol: 50,000-200,000 (the leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds)
All illegal drugs combined:3562
oh well....lets have a war.
EDIT: I would like to see the numbers compared to the users.
really...? have you ever heard of someone dying from THC poisoning...? how about the commiting of violent acts when stoned...?
I'm not saying it has never ever happend...but I'd be will to bet the numbers are very very low...
No one has ever died from THC poisoning. There is no evidence at all, anywhere to support that. Marijuana itself is non-toxic (sure it can be laced, but I do not think that is the norm-and it wouldn't be the THC that is toxic).
The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer is a good reference for the history of marijuana.
bwaahaa NOT!!!!
If pot makes people smoke harder stuff then yes... but if pot is a gateway drug then isn't alcohol?
light up and relax...become aware...get drunk....become stupid, dulled out and careless...
I'll take the law off pot thankyou very much... but that's me at a mature age...not some whacked out teenager looking for a fix.
I think we need to fix the need to get a fix in the first place. Pot was on this earth long before any law or judge. Who the hell are they to tell me what I can and can't feel or use on this earth. It's just a frickn plant afterall...
If so, what's the justification? I mean, you don't point to the number of car accident deaths as a reason to outlaw motorcycle helmets....
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Hey!? you went to the same school as me also? hehe....
Getting high in class certainly wasn't the coolest for me...luckily it was only my final year that I got so bold to blast the odd "splee" between classes.
I graduated my final with just with just about a "B" average....but I was a straight A student before. I must say that my graduating year was awesome though...and I had more friends than I could meet and talk to any given day.
But now if only I could have known then...what I know now....hoooo...boy!
Weed grows naturally all on it's own....alcohol is far from a natural process. That speaks volumes to me IMO.
that will solve everything, just like it did before.
Kills a pound of pain
the drug abuse i've seen has to do more with women and weight issues.
weed was always the thing to do. not encouraging.
other kinda rave drugs: never got into.
unfortunately getting wasted especially for the young is still the cool thing to do. drinking more responsibly has to change though.
on a side note: i'd always admired that cool uncle and/or aunt in the family....that's like yeah we know you're going to drink anyway....so...here...here's a beer....just promise to be responsible.
and they were right: i was going to drink anyway....if i'd been more responsible....i could've actually enjoyed drinking more....
(and as i look out the window) "getting hammered".....as a goal for the night......should've had my priorites in order.
lol. i remember my first beer. at 18. so it was at a jazz bar: and i was sitting there thinking.....was i going to get drunk right away?.....lol....in hindsight....silly.....right?
just thinking aloud: i can't think of a worse combo than drugs and alcohol. yikes.
I'm in high school, and though both are easy to get, alcohol is easier. I agree alcohol is more dangerous, BUT I would like to see this number in proportion to the number of users to truly form an opinion.
I've had hangovers that last days though, and I do the stupidest things drunk. Ugh..
They should make alcohol that only gets you so drunk i.e. not all barfy wasted and "man overboard". That would be smart, but I wonder who would buy it? :rolleyes:
Drew
Oh yeah definatly I've had some amazing conversations with some people while kicking back and smoking a nice joint.
Weed+guitar=Amazing
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4639.html
"Revenue Canada received $578,000 in personal income taxes (1999 to 2005) on income that was explicitly from the sale of marijuana seeds, and they ALWAYS were aware of it. It said “Marijuana Seed Vendor” on my tax returns. I explained my entire banking and money systems and always gave income tax all access to my accounts so they could verify everything I said was true. I told them the Money Mart location where I cashed some money orders; my bank accounts were explained so they could track the flow of money. I relayed how expenses and disbursements took place in the incriminating world of seeds. They knew how it all worked because I had nothing to hide. The government of Canada received about $378,000 of this money; the provincial government of British Columbia received about $200,000."
why American policy sucks ass:
"I was always raided after appearing in A-list American media. A month after the Wall Street Journal: raided. A month after Rolling Stone: raided. Two months after the CNN Visits Canada’s Prince of Pot special in October 1997: raided. The police took a million dollars in store and business assets in total, but I was not even charged on either occasion, and received small fines from the courts when I was charged on two others. The last fine I got for selling seeds in 1998 was $700 per count; seven counts, $5,000 in total. From a $700 fine for seeds in 1998, to life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty in 2005 ... that’s a fantastic contrast."
"The Bush White House, the DEA, and US police forces are arresting more Americans for marijuana than ever before, pursuing marijuana people with a frenzy never before seen in history. On October 17, 2005, the FBI revealed 771,608 persons were arrested for marijuana violations in 2004. The total is the highest ever and comprised 44.2 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. Since 1965, 17 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offences, and arrests have skyrocketed in the past 12 years."
http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse4290.ram
sure, let's ban alcohol...why not...it's harmful, just like other drugs...
I would think someone who strongly supports keeping drugs illegal would support such a ban...right...?
If you take the liquid part out of the chemical makeup, it is ether.
As a note, prohibition did not start because of the temperance movement. What happened is that there was a war going on and they needed grain for fuel for the war, so they TEMPORARILY banned alcohol for consumption as to save the grain. But even after the war ended, they just stayed with the prohibition because of the temperance movement.
I personally disagree with the idea that prohibition did not work. It was no different that any illegal drug now, and we don't cave into making those drugs legal because they are being sold, used, manufactured, and crime revolves them. There is no difference. Its the same thing.
Prohibition worked as well as keeping pot illegal, or any other drug for that matter.
Throw in tobacco and its all fucked up.
i had the same experience. so easy to get weed in high school, but alcohol was VERY ahrd to come by.
Prohibition does nothing but create a black-market and all the issues that come with it.
If this country were serious about reducing illegal drug use, we would legalize all drugs and use the massive amount of money currently used for interdiction for treatment & education.
http://designer-drugs.com/pte/12.162.180.114/dcd/chemistry/ethyl.ether.html
Absolutely no difference. So, I say, that if we should not go back to prohibition....for it didn't work as so many say, why the double standard. If its okay to keep today's illicit drugs illegal, and some would say it works...then so did prohibition. What is the difference? Is it they just caved in to the public back then and are refusing to now? if so, why? There is no difference. It seems hypocritical and bad policy.
Alcohol is the grandaddy of them all and create many more problems than most of the illicit drugs of today.
Its a crock. Prohibition did work back then, had they stuck by it like they now are with illicit drugs. I don't see any difference.
When I say it worked..it worked by the government's standards of today that is prohbiting illicit drugs now....the gov thinks this works today...so back then was no different and by those standards did work!