Differences between users' and addiction medicine experts' harm and benefit assessments of licit and illicit psychoactive drugs: Input for psychoeducation and legalization/restriction debates.
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2022 Udo Bonnet, Michael Specka, Ann-Kristin Kanti et al. 4 citations
Substance-dependent users and addiction medicine experts rank the harms of traditional illicit drugs (heroin, cocaine, amphetamines) highest, with alcohol and benzodiazepines also in a top-harm tier. Both groups place methadone, nicotine, and cannabis in the midrange, and buprenorphine and psychotropic mushrooms at the lowest harm level. Users rate the benefits of traditional illicit drugs, cannabis, and nicotine more positively than experts do, while experts judge methadone as significantly less harmful than users do. Users attribute the most benefits to buprenorphine, methadone, and cannabis, likely reflecting that over 50% of the user sample sought opiate detoxification treatment. The findings inform psychoeducation and policy debates.