It is of course disingenuous to state that the most dangerous drugs are alcohol and tobacco due to the fact that they kill the most people. While this is true, it’s obviously because alcohol and tobacco are the two most popular drugs due to their legal status. Despite this, it has been said previously that if nicotine and alcohol were brought in today as new drugs, they would be banned due to the harm they do to the body.

The effects of alcohol are easy to spot for anyone who’s had more than a couple of drinks. The damage to the brain, liver and self-esteem of a person who’s drunk too much alcohol can be experienced the day after in the inevitable hangover, the body’s reminder that alcohol is a poison. That’s not exaggeration, alcohol is an actual poison, and being drunk is the body’s allergic reaction to an unwanted chemical in the body.

The effects of nicotine are not as easily noticeable to those who are addicted. The one negative aspect of tobacco that is most easily recognizable is its addictiveness. It’s been said that tobacco may even be a more addictive drug than heroin. Such a statement might seem over the top, but if you’ve known a pack-a-day smoker who’s been attempting to quit, or if you have been one yourself, you’ll know the willpower it takes to give up nicotine for good. So many products are currently available to help people quit smoking, from patches to support groups to meditation techniques, yet smokers will often admit they’ve tried to give up a number of times, unsuccessfully.

The more popular, and more dangerous, drugs in use today include recreational drugs. Such as ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine, speed and cocaine. These drugs provide a real “high” to the user, giving them feelings of elation, a connectedness with everything around them and heightened levels of energy. Of course, the other side of this is the “crash” that comes afterwards, which can be far more painful than the hangover from alcohol, and is often accompanied by a strong desire to take more drugs.

In the 60’s, psychedelic drugs were seen as the cool thing to do. Drugs like marijuana, LSD and “magic” mushrooms influenced a generation of artists, musicians and filmmakers, yet also led to the premature deaths of many of these performers.

Drugs are without doubt better left alone, and should be taken with extreme care, if at all. To say that alcohol and nicotine are somehow better than illegal drugs simply because the law determines we are allowed to have them is to make a grave mistake, as they have chemicals that can be just as addictive and damaging to our mind and body.