Drugs Without Hot Air Analysis

In a very clear and accessible manner, Prof. David Nutt’s work argues the case for an evidence based approach, challenging elements of drug policy and myths on the harms of legal and illegal drugs. Relating the work to family, environmental and economic factors accompanied with the dangers of injury and death associated with different drugs, Nutt’s work demonstrates his framework for quantifying their harms. According to Nutt, in order to minimize these harms of drugs, public perception and policies must be informed by logical evidence and less determined by human ideology. His work, especially his book, Drugs without Hot Air, equips the reader with necessary knowledge of how drugs affect the body mentally and physically and how addiction happens. Nutt’s work contains very fascinating insight into the history of drug
He argues that the risks of cannabis use are much less severe than the harms caused by prison. He mentions that 7% of heroin users first tried heroin in prison whereas in the Netherlands, where cannabis use is decriminalized, heroin use is among the lowest in Europe. Approximately 1 in 5,000 cannabis users may go on to develop schizophrenia; in prison, 40% of male, and 60% of female, inmates suffer from some form of neurotic disorder.
Nutt’s beliefs( to quote)- “I strongly believe that we should focus on public health approaches to the drug problem, and decriminalize the possession of drugs for personal use, for the following simple reason;- If users are addicted then they are ill, and criminal sanctions are an inappropriate way to deal with an illness. If they are not addicted then criminalization will almost always lead to greater harms to the user than the effects of the drug. For example, it can severely limit career options in public service and prevent travel to some countries particularly the