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.

  • DaveMA
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    5 months ago

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

      • DaveMA
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        5 months ago

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

        • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          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…

      • Fizz
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        5 months ago

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