Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence
World Health Organization, “Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence,” World Health Organization, Geneva (2004).
While by no means an anti-prohibitionist document, this World Health Organization report makes a number of interesting points. The report notes, "despite intensive interdiction efforts, there always seems to be enough [drugs] available to users." Worldwide, according to WHO, 8.8 percent of mortality is attributable to tobacco, 3.2 percent to alcohol and 0.4 percent to all illicit drugs combined -- with most of the illicit drug-related mortality due to disease transmission via needle-sharing. Given the U.S. government's claims of links between marijuana and mental illness, it is noteworthy that WHO reports that alcohol-dependent individuals have 3.3 times the rate of schizophrenia as non-alcoholics. In addition, the report notes, "there are ample data to suggest that excessive alcohol use leads to depression."
Full text available for free at: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/en/Neuroscience.pdf
