Quantifying the RR of harm to self and others from substance misuse: results from a survey of clinical experts across Scotland

Mark Taylor; Kirsty Mackay; Jen Murphy; Andrew M. McIntosh; Claire Mcintosh; Seonaid Anderson; Killian Welch

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000774

Quantifying the RR of harm to self and others from substance misuse: results from a survey of clinical experts across Scotland

Mark Taylor (Lead / Corresponding author), Kirsty Mackay, Jen Murphy, Andrew M. McIntosh, Claire Mcintosh, Seonaid Anderson, Killian Welch

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective To produce an expert consensus hierarchy of harm to self and others from legal and illegal substance use.

Design Structured questionnaire with nine scored categories of harm for 19 different commonly used substances.

Setting/participants 292 clinical experts from across Scotland.

Results There was no stepped categorical distinction in harm between the different legal and illegal substances. Heroin was viewed as the most harmful, and cannabis the least harmful of the substances studied. Alcohol was ranked as the fourth most harmful substance, with alcohol, nicotine and volatile solvents being viewed as more harmful than some class A drugs.

Conclusions The harm rankings of 19 commonly used substances did not match the A, B, C classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The legality of a substance of misuse is not correlated with its perceived harm. These results could inform any legal review of drug misuse and help shape public health policy and practice.

Original language	English
Article number	e000774
Number of pages	7
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	2
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000774
Publication status	Published - 24 Jul 2012

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10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000774

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title = "Quantifying the RR of harm to self and others from substance misuse: results from a survey of clinical experts across Scotland",

abstract = "Objective To produce an expert consensus hierarchy of harm to self and others from legal and illegal substance use.Design Structured questionnaire with nine scored categories of harm for 19 different commonly used substances.Setting/participants 292 clinical experts from across Scotland.Results There was no stepped categorical distinction in harm between the different legal and illegal substances. Heroin was viewed as the most harmful, and cannabis the least harmful of the substances studied. Alcohol was ranked as the fourth most harmful substance, with alcohol, nicotine and volatile solvents being viewed as more harmful than some class A drugs.Conclusions The harm rankings of 19 commonly used substances did not match the A, B, C classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The legality of a substance of misuse is not correlated with its perceived harm. These results could inform any legal review of drug misuse and help shape public health policy and practice.",

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AU - Taylor, Mark

AU - Mackay, Kirsty

AU - Murphy, Jen

AU - McIntosh, Andrew M.

AU - Mcintosh, Claire

AU - Anderson, Seonaid

AU - Welch, Killian

PY - 2012/7/24

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N2 - Objective To produce an expert consensus hierarchy of harm to self and others from legal and illegal substance use.Design Structured questionnaire with nine scored categories of harm for 19 different commonly used substances.Setting/participants 292 clinical experts from across Scotland.Results There was no stepped categorical distinction in harm between the different legal and illegal substances. Heroin was viewed as the most harmful, and cannabis the least harmful of the substances studied. Alcohol was ranked as the fourth most harmful substance, with alcohol, nicotine and volatile solvents being viewed as more harmful than some class A drugs.Conclusions The harm rankings of 19 commonly used substances did not match the A, B, C classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The legality of a substance of misuse is not correlated with its perceived harm. These results could inform any legal review of drug misuse and help shape public health policy and practice.

AB - Objective To produce an expert consensus hierarchy of harm to self and others from legal and illegal substance use.Design Structured questionnaire with nine scored categories of harm for 19 different commonly used substances.Setting/participants 292 clinical experts from across Scotland.Results There was no stepped categorical distinction in harm between the different legal and illegal substances. Heroin was viewed as the most harmful, and cannabis the least harmful of the substances studied. Alcohol was ranked as the fourth most harmful substance, with alcohol, nicotine and volatile solvents being viewed as more harmful than some class A drugs.Conclusions The harm rankings of 19 commonly used substances did not match the A, B, C classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The legality of a substance of misuse is not correlated with its perceived harm. These results could inform any legal review of drug misuse and help shape public health policy and practice.

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DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000774

M3 - Article

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JF - BMJ Open

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M1 - e000774

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Quantifying the RR of harm to self and others from substance misuse: results from a survey of clinical experts across Scotland

Abstract

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