Drug users are very much aware of their stuffAccording to recent findings published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, drug users are very much informed about side effects and health complications associated with the drugs they use. It was remarked that these users perceive alcohol and tobacco to be two of the most dangerous substances, a fact that was highlighted by a survey by UCL (University College London) and Imperial College London researchers.

From Sciencedaily.com:

“The reported prevalence of use of each substance also suggests that the classification of drugs has little bearing on the choice of whether to use substances or not. For example ecstasy, a Class A substance, was the fourth most regularly used psychoactive drug, according to our survey.

“We also asked drug users about their perceived benefits of taking psychoactive substances, as this is clearly important in a person’s decision of whether to take a drug or not. Psychoactive substances LSD, cannabis and ecstasy were consistently rated as having the highest short and long-term benefits. These findings add to the debate on the validity of the current classification of drugs in the UK.

The twenty substances surveyed in the 2009 study were alcohol, alkyl nitrates, amphetamines, anabolic steroids, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, GHB, heroin, LSD, ketamine, khat, 4-MTA, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, buprenorphine, cannabis, methylphenidate, solvents, street methadone and tobacco.