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Should ethanol be scheduled as a drug of high risk to public health?

¹ Professor of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Director, National Addiction Centre, University of Otago, Christchurch, PO Box 4345, Christchurch Mail Centre, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
² Chief Medical Officer, Capital and Coast District Health Board, Wellington, New Zealand; and Director, Alcohol and Drug Programmes, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wellington Hospital, Private Bag 7902, Wellington South 6242, New Zealand
³ Director, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, PO Box 10055, Wellington 6413, New Zealand

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

Abstract

Six criteria described in the New Zealand Misuse of Drugs Act and used by the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) for determining the risk of a drug to public health were examined in relation to ethanol, using -hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) as a comparator drug. GHB is an ideal candidate for use as a comparator because it is a sedative substance very similar to ethanol and has been previously investigated by the EACD using these six criteria. GHB was subsequently classified as a Class B1 drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, that is, as a prohibited drug of high risk to public health. The dangerousness level of ethanol was found to be at least similar to that of GHB in this analysis. This highlights a major discrepancy in public policy.

Key Words: alcohol, classification, drugs of abuse

First published on June 26, 2008, doi:10.1177/0269881108091596

Journal of Psychopharmacology 2009;23:94.

A more recent version of this article appeared on January 1, 2009


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