Dating back to the Reagan administration, marijuana has been alleged to be one of the most harmful and dangerous “drugs” on the streets of America. However, most people recognize that alcohol and big tobacco are two “legal drugs” that are sold in vast quantities, yet are both extremely dangerous. Cigarettes and alcohol are responsible for thousands of deaths each year, either as a direct result of consumption, or as a side effect that eventually leads to death. Of the two, alcohol poses a unique danger because of its short term health effects which can be deadlier than short term cigarette smoking.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of deaths stemming from alcohol-induced causes topped off at 22,073 in 2006. The CDC also claims that the annual number of deaths due to excessive alcohol consumption for 2001-2005 was roughly 79,000 annually. Studies indicate that amongst the total U.S. population, approximately 15% binge drink (defined as having 5 or more drinks in one outing for males, and 4 or more for females), while about 5% of the total population drank heavily. That amounts to about 45 million binge drinkers in the U.S. The CDC also states that excessive alcohol use is the 3^rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death for people in the United States each year. It has been difficult finding exact numbers, and given the nature of the statistic being sought, estimates might be the best we can produce. Some of the data on alcohol related deaths puts the number between 85,000 and 100,000, however the disparity in the numbers likely is a result of the attribution of a death to alcohol in more indirect ways. Examples of these indirect links include attributing deaths from diseases which can be traced to alcohol, accidental drowning and other “related” deaths. The following chart shows data accumulated from 2001-2005 on alcohol-attributable deaths.

Note: Numbers may not sum exactly to totals due to rounding. < 1 indicates that there was less than 1 but greater than 0 deaths from a particular cause that were attributable to alcohol consumption.

Whatever the actual number of alcohol-attributable deaths is, it is fairly certain that there have been no deaths attributed to marijuana use in any way, shape or form. For those that doubt this statistic, FBI Director Eric Mueller has even stated that no adult has been killed by marijuana. According to drugwarfacts.org, marijuana is listed as having zero deaths attributable to consumption and use. Not only is marijuana unrelated to any deaths, but given the amount of time that cannabis has been used, it seems fairly clear that this number is unlikely to change any time soon. Perhaps even more telling is the fact that while the CDC website lists alcohol amongst the myriad of other diseases and health concerns, it omits marijuana completely. A search of their website’s alphabetical index produced no results for ‘cannabis’ , ‘THC’ or ‘marijuana’, and a trip to their section on ‘lung cancer’ reveals that the primary focus for the CDC in regards to lung cancer is cigarette smoke. Perhaps they are getting around to it, but something tells me that their inability to link smoking marijuana to disease or health concerns prevents them from adding such information to their website.

Despite the glaring missing link connecting marijuana use to any major diseases, there are still practical negative side effects of heavy marijuana use. Of course, smoking marijuana always presents a risk considering you are inhaling a carcinogen, which is never healthy. However, you can still get high without smoking marijuana as it is also ingestible when prepared correctly, and can be vaporized, which is a pure and smokeless way to get high. Studies also report that heavy marijuana use lowers men’s testosterone levels and sperm count and quality. Also, in a similar way that people have different tolerance levels for alcohol, people also have different tolerance levels for smoking marijuana. Some people have the ability to smoke constantly throughout the day and have no impact on their ability to get tasks done, while others may be put out by just a few tokes. There are numerous factors that impact a person’s ability to handle what they are smoking, including the strain type (indica, sativa, hybrid, THC levels), and how they are consuming marijuana (joint, bong, vaporizer, etc.). Some medical and informational websites state that marijuana can create a psychological addiction, claiming 1 in 12 smokers feels withdrawal symptoms if they can’t get high when they want to. Whether these side effects are legitimate or merely propaganda remains unclear. Most people I know that smoke will freely admit that at one point in time or another, they have gotten “too stoned” and have lazily wasted a day before.

What is clear is that marijuana, in comparison to alcohol, is far less dangerous of the two. Alcohol has been conclusively proven to kill a certain number of people per year. Alcohol producers make a conscious decision to sell their product knowing that a certain number of people will die as a result of putting their booze on market shelves. The U.S. Government allows for alcohol to be placed into the market, with full knowledge of its ill-effects, yet it is marijuana, not alcohol, that gets stigmatized and is lumped into the category of dangerous drugs that must be prohibited.

Keep in mind that marijuana for studies must be procured from the US Government, and they haven’t been too willing to allow for free and independent studies of their stash.

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