From 40-50% of all murders and highway fatalities are alcohol related. In fact, highway fatalities that are alcohol related might be as high as 90%, according to the Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times.

Alcohol is also indicated in the majority (69-80%) of all child rape/incest cases; wife beating incidents are in great majority (60-80%) alcohol influenced.

It is a well-known fact that alcohol can be very addictive, causes a wide range of health problems (from liver damage to brain cell destruction), is very debilitating to motor skills and equilibrium, and causes aggressive and violent behavior. Marijuana, on the other hand, is less addictive than caffeine, causes very few health problems, is much less debilitating to motor skills and equilibrium, and reduces aggressive and violent behavior. Alcohol tends to make people obnoxious, rowdy, careless, and very inebriated -- marijuana doesn't. Many "potheads" hate being around "drunks" for this very reason.

The toxicity for alcohol extremely high, while the toxicity of marijuana is extremely low. The "safety factor" for alcohol is around 10, meaning that 10 times the effective dose can be lethal. The safety factor for marijuana would be well over 40,000 -- it would take around 40,000 times the effective human dose to kill a mouse. It's virtually impossible to overdose on marijuana, since it works in a completely different way than alcohol or other drugs, and doesn't cripple the functioning of the heart or lungs even with extremely high doses.

One can easily get alcohol poisoning and die from drinking a fifth of liquor too quickly, yet this is a readily available amount.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana is not chemically or physically addictive, and users do not experience the kind of tolerance that leads to increased dosage. No serious withdrawal symptoms occur with abstinence, even among heavy users. Research has proven that marijuana does NOT cause brain damage or birth defects, while it is common knowledge that alcohol destroys brain cells, and CAN cause birth defects. Both hallucinations and "psychosis" are extremely rare with marijuana (and only among those with existing mental disorders such as schizophrenia), but are more common with alcohol.

Read "A Parent's Guide to Kids and Alcohol"

While marijuana can sometimes impair immediate memory, it doesn't obliterate recall later or cause "blackouts", as alcohol can. There is no alcohol-type "hangover" from the marijuana high. One of the most important qualities of marijuana is that the "intoxication" is very mild compared to that of alcohol, and less debilitating to mental and physical functions.

While driving under the influence of ANY drug is not recommended, the fact is that marijuana affects driving skills MUCH less than alcohol, if you do have to drive for some reason. Research proves that marijuana is less of a road hazard than alcohol. Unlike alcohol, which encourages risky driving, marijuana produces greater caution, because users are more aware of their state and able to compensate for it. Another important factor is that marijuana users, in situations requiring seriousness, are in fact able to "bring themselves down," so that they are no longer "high". Of course, this is a well-known fact among experienced users, but researchers have only recently confirmed this.

A 2002 review of seven separate studies involving 7,934 drivers reported, “Crash culpability studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes.”  This result is likely because subject under the influence of marijuana are aware of their impairment and compensate for it accordingly, such as by slowing down and by focusing their attention when they know a response will be required.  This reaction is just the opposite of that exhibited by drivers under the influence of alcohol, who tend to drive in a more risky manner proportional to their intoxication.

As it turns out, the accusations made against marijuana are actually true of alcohol, yet it continues to be "socially acceptable" to drink on a daily basis, while ANY use of marijuana is considered "drug abuse". Neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself presents a legitimate danger to public safety. It's current classification as a Schedule I criminally prohibited drug is disproportionate to its relative harmlessness.

Unlike opiates, nicotine, or alcohol, cannabinoids do not cause sufficient within-system adaptations to produce the severe withdrawal symptoms traditionally associated with physical dependence and addiction.

Alcohol and Crime

The British Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs concluded in its 2002 report, which recommended the decriminalization of marijuana, that "Cannabis differs from alcohol … in one major respect. It does not seem to increase risk-taking behavior", and that "cannabis rarely contributes to violence either to others or to oneself, whereas alcohol use is a major factor in deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents and violence."

On an average day in 1996, an estimated 5.3 million convicted offenders were under the supervision of criminal justice authorities. Nearly 40% of these offenders, about 2 million, had been using alcohol at the time of the offense for which they were convicted.

Source: Greenfield, Lawrence A., US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Alcohol and Crime: An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, April, 1998), p. 20.


About 6 in 10 convicted jail inmates said that they had been drinking on a regular basis during the year before the offense for which they were serving time. Nearly 2 out of 3 of these inmates, regardless of whether they drank daily or less often, reported having previously been in a treatment program for an alcohol dependency problem.

Source: Greenfield, Lawrence A., US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Alcohol and Crime: An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, April, 1998), p. 27.


For more than 4 in 10 convicted murderers being held either in jail or in State prison, alcohol use is reported to have been a factor in the crime. Nearly half of those convicted of assault and sentenced to probation had been drinking when the offense occurred.

Source: Greenfield, Lawrence A., US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Alcohol and Crime: An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, April, 1998), p. 21.

Read "A Parent's Guide to Kids and Alcohol"