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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Review: Should ethanol be scheduled as a drug of high risk to public health?
Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 23, No. 1, 94-100 (2009)
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.
Request Reprint E-Mail: doug.sellman@otago.ac.nz
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