In the world of substance use, most of them are associated with the potential for harm and death due to overdose. But what about cannabis?
In this study a comparative risk assessment of alcohol, tobacco, heroin, cocaine, opiates, amphetamine type stimulants, benzodiazepines, ecstasy, and marijuana was conducted using the margin of exposure approach.
Margin of exposure is based on a comparison between a toxic / lethal dose and the average dose for typical human consumption. Alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and heroin fell into the “high risk” category with a margin of exposure of less than 10. This means that consuming 10X the normal consumption could lead to overdose and fatality.
Marijuana was the only one that fell into the “low risk” category, with a margin of exposure of 10,000. This means that you would have to consume 10,000X the normal usage amount to reach a toxic level. You could also say that cannabis is 1,000X safer than alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and heroin.
Given these facts, why is marijuana still illegal in many places?
