Experienced Drug Users Assess the Relative Harms and Benefits of Drugs: A Web-Based Survey
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs September 1, 2013 Robin Lester Carhart-Harris, David John Nutt 55 citations
Experienced drug users who have personally used 11 different illicit drugs rank alcohol and tobacco as the most harmful substances, while MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, and cannabis are ranked as the four least harmful. When asked about potential benefits, these same four drugs are ranked highest, and users cite therapeutic applications—such as tools to assist psychotherapy—rather than just pleasure. The findings offer insight from a rare sample of 93 users with intimate knowledge of multiple drugs.