Science Forums 2

[Moontanman]

To really answer this you have to understand that one drug seldom really resembles another in it's effects. Alcohol is not like Cannabis or cigarettes or cocaine. Each and every drug has a unique active chemical and do not affect the same areas of the brain. They can be arranged on similar groups as to their effects but the effects often over lap because the brain has a limited number of ways it can react to chemical stimuli. Opiates IE vicoden, codeine, heroin, and other derivatives of the poppy plant are all very similar chemically and have similar effects. Cannabis is a mild hallucinogen and bears no resemblance to tobacco other than they are both usually smoked. Cocaine is a stimulant and to some extent a hallucinogen too. Alcohol is a depressant with wide ranging effects on the brain and body. LSD is a very strong hallucinogen whose effects are similar to DMT which is the active ingredient of some other hallucinogenic plants. sometimes the chemicals can be very different but have similar effects on the human brain. To sum it up you need to really look at every "drug" differently, legal and illegal are totally artificial constructs and nothing to do with the effects or danger of these mind altering chemicals.