according to this site and others,
but there is no concrete cite. could someone tell me whether these statistics are accurate and where they came from? one of the sites said it came from edrugproject.org, but this site is about cookware, not drugs.
Well, FWIW, I think I found the original. It’s from 1994. The numbers have apparently been extracted from it in order to make up the OP’s factoid that is currently floating around the Web.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/MISC/downshow.htm
The source of the statistics would seem to be Clifford Schaffer, but it doesn’t say (he doesn’t say) where he got his numbers from.
You can look through his website and references and see if he says.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/index.HTM
This website has some actual cites for where they got their numbers, which are similar but not identical to Clifford Schaffer’s numbers.
I’m not going to cite stats, this is just my humble opinion, but from my personal observation and experinece, ethel alcohol in its myriad of forms has killed more people and ruined more lives than any other drug known to man. Then again, I am a reformed whore.
I couldn’t figure out whether the stats in the OP’s link relate strictly to deaths due to the toxic effects of the drug on the body, or whether they included such things as fatal accidents in DUI situations, or fatal diseases contracted by addicts sharing dirty needles. It’s an important distinction, since marijuana can affect your ability to drive, even though you can’t OD on it.
thanks hlanelee. you just made me remember the book i read part of that said that alcohol has killed more people than weed, cocaine, ecstacy, and a whole bunch of other drugs combined. i think that’s impressive enough even without numerical figures.
Well gypsymoth3, I just saw your post as an opportunity to rant. You see, in 1987 I woke up in a drunk tank the morning after rear-ending a carload of people and I thought about visiting my Father in the morgue, he died DWI in 1982 in a head-on collision. He was going South in a North-bound lane. I also remember watching my dear old Grandmother die of cirrhosis of the liver (a particularly ugly way to go) in 1980. Laying in the general filth of the drunk tank, I concluded that if I did not stop drinking, I would die an ugly, alcoholic death like the previous two generations. I have been sober now for almost 17 years and I’m militant about temperance, a reformed whore.
Alcohol is not given nearly enough credence for the damage it does. I wish I had a dollar for the number of times I’ve seen some jackass drinking a beer while he talks about this drug problem or that problem. Thanks for acknowledging my post.
congrats. yeah, most of my family are/were alcoholics at one time. and my mom’s best friend was one about ten years ago. it takes alot to get out of that stuff.