Loving an Alcoholic in a Positive Way

7. Get the facts. According to a recent study published in the medical journal Lancet and cross-referenced in the Washington Post, “Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine.” This comprehensive study, which was primarily conducted by British researchers, involved the analysis of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, methamphetamine and marijuana and a comparative ranking predicated on addictiveness and harm, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison.

Based on objective evidence from the study, scientists adjudged that heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine were the most lethal to individuals. When considering social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were determined to be the deadliest. On the whole, the researchers declared that alcohol outranked all other substances, because “it is so widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them.”