Whatever you people come up with, it's bound to be more dangerous, and even possibly more addictive, than cannabis.

An ever-growing body of scientific research clearly demonstrates that Cannabis/Marijuana is less addictive than a cup of tea.

Dr. Jack E. Henningfield of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Dr. Neal L. Benowitz of the University of California at San Francisco ranked six psychoactive substances on five criteria.

Withdrawal -- The severity of withdrawal symptoms produced by stopping the use of the drug.

Reinforcement -- The drug's tendency to induce users to take it again and again.

Tolerance -- The user's need to have ever-increasing doses to get the same effect.

Dependence -- The difficulty in quitting, or staying off the drug, the number of users who eventually become dependent

Intoxication -- The degree of intoxication produced by the drug in typical use.

The tables listed below show the rankings given for each of the drugs. Overall, their evaluations for the drugs are very consistent. It is notable that marijuana ranks below caffeine in most addictive criteria, while alcohol and tobacco are near the top of the scale in many areas.

The rating scale is from 1 to 6 --- 1 denotes the drug with the strongest addictive tendencies, while 6 denotes the drug with the least addictive tendencies.


HENNINGFIELD RATINGS

Withdrawal Reinforcement Tolerance Dependence Intoxication

Nicotine 3 4 2 1 5

Heroin 2 2 1 2 2

Cocaine 4 1 4 3 3

Alcohol 1 3 3 4 1

Caffeine 5 6 5 5 6

Marijuana 6 5 6 6 4


BENOWITZ RATINGS

Withdrawal Reinforcement Tolerance Dependence Intoxication

Nicotine 3 4 4 1 6

Heroin 2 2 2 2 2

Cocaine 3 1 1 3 3

Alcohol 1 3 4 4 1

Caffeine 4 5 3 5 5

Marijuana 5 6 5 6 4