Read my post "hard drug users".

Having lived in Iran, it's true, there are a lot of heroin addicts. But probably more in Afghanistan. The Ayatollahs have a hypocritical view of heroin, because it brings in lots of revenue.
However, that website looks rather suspect to me. For example, the table column depicting "Total number of addicts" doesn't make sense from the way they have written the comma; is the number of heroin addicts in Iran 95,000 or 950,000??
And some of their spelling just isn't English.

But you have crossed your point up already. You said "habitual alcohol users" then talk about "hard drug users"

If we are talking about cannabis then there is no evidence that the weed itself is addict forming, alcohol is. When we talk about harder drugs then often its not the drug itself that is the issue but what it's cut with, as already pointed out. It's not uncommon at all to find Vim, bicarb, horse drugs, talk, lactose, in fact almost anything they can get their hands on... heroin is one of the worst for being adulterated. Lets not forget that in its purest form of diamorphine it has saved tens of millions of lives since the 1800's.... cut it with crap and sell it to weak vulnerable people and it kills.

It's interesting that the various agencies set up to combat severe addiction to alcohol, mostly AA, now accept drug addicts into their treatment programme too, the addictions being strikingly similar.

Similarly, an easy and effective treatment has yet to be found. Rich celebrities go to extremely expensive treatment centres and frequently lapse, just the same as ordinary people going to free meetings.

You can fall on your knees and pray your heart out, but it won't replace the soothing effect of whatever you became addicted to. I would bet that most families in the land have witnessed such wicked addiction at first hand within their family circle.

There's even a strong belief that such addictions are inherited.

To take my point a little further, a considerable percentage of late teens and early twenties have been going out getting rat-arsed on alcohol on weekends as long as I can remember.

The vast majority do not turn into alcos, well not until they've been married for about 40 yrs anyway) .

Had they been abusing hard drugs in a similar manner, the vast majority would soon be addicted and wreck their lives in no time at all.

But DD, kids smoke cannabis these days as freely as you might have smoked a cigarette, or equal to the amount of which they drink booze. Where are all the drug addicts?
You keep changing cannabis for "hard drugs". Cannabis isn't a hard drug.

Any evidence for that?

The discussion broadened to include hard drugs and alcohol,(not my doing), so I simply added my own view to that.
I'm fully aware that cannabis is not a hard drug, though as I pointed out earlier it is not without its risks.

http://www.michaelshouse.com/drug-ad...e-drugs-world/

Some interesting figures.

MOST ADDICTIVE DRUGS

First, Nicotine at over 30% of those who became regular users.

Second, Caffeine at slightly less than 30%

Third, Heroine at 25%

Fourth Cocaine, (no figure given).

Fifth, Alcohol at 15%

Makes interesting reading...

http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/ass...the.nation.pdf

Quite an interesting post there DD.
All credence to the OP on the subject of cannabis ... it doesn't even make the list

I don't think anyone would expect it to.

It's immediate effects don't on the face of it seem to be dramatic or dangerous, however there appears to be much to learn regarding it's long term effects as ever increasing numbers of regular users end up in mental facilities.

True, but the same could probably be said of lots of processed foods.

Isn't that the truth!
But I guess GMO is a whole new topic!

Here's what it does to you. The guys been sober and clean for six days. Six days!

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/b...004850501.html