Alcohol is as relatively dangerous to health as hard drugs such as heroin and the cocaine derivative crack, according to a new national health institute report quoted by the NRC.

The RIVM has investigated the health dangers, social cost and likelihood of addiction of 19 drugs and legal substances including hallucenogenic mushrooms, alcohol and LSD.
The aim of the ranking is to allow better evaluation of the Dutch drugs policy, which separates hard and soft drugs and turns a blind eye to the sale of limited amounts of marijuana, the RIVM said.
Top of the list is crack cocaine, followed by heroin, alcohol, crystal meth and cocaine. Tobacco is in seventh place but is one of the top ranked in terms of its affect on society as a whole.
The RIVM also published a separate report about cannabis, the paper says.
The report says better public information should be published about the risks of psychosis, cancer and reduced ability to drive which are all associated with cannabis use.
For the complete ranking, click here