By Patrick Glendening, Staff Columnist

The creation of alcohol can be traced back to approximately 6,000 BCE in the form of wine and mead. Since then, alcohol has played a powerful role in developing cultures worldwide, making its consumption a popular social current in most societies today. What many people don’t know is that alcohol may be just as dangerous as the world’s most taboo drugs. Surprisingly, one of our most popular social lubricants could also be a serious catalyst for negative mental and social behavior.

So why do we accept alcohol as our drug of choice? Is it simply because consuming alcohol is really the most enjoyable way to celebrate, or do we only accept this belief because of deeply rooted social and religious traditions? It’s odd to picture the representation of Christ’s blood as being anything but wine, but history could have just as easily progressed in another direction, instead using a drug such as opium in its  religious accounts. Don’t get your virtuous knickers in a twist; I’m only questioning what a U.K. study has already proven: the acceptance of alcohol as a primary social norm in modern cultures.

The study looked at nine damaging effects different drugs have on individuals, ranging from relationship issues to death. The overall rating is generated from a combination of factors, regarding seven potential harms different drugs have on society. The scale ranges from 0 to 100, and alcohol scored a daunting 72 points. Heroin scored 55 and crack scored 54.

As most of us would assume, heroin scored the highest in the “harm to self” category. But it was our most popular, legal recreational drug that scored at the top of the combined dangers list. The rating system accurately classifies drugs danger levels based on multiple factors such as harm to the individual, harm to family and harm to society.

Regardless of these findings, there has been no call to outlaw alcohol. We’ve only been given new perspective on how drugs should be classified.

Because alcohol is legal, people tend to think it is safer than illegal drugs such as heroin or ecstasy. This may not be true. People need to look at the different dangers alcohol use may present. Talk to your friends about their Halloween weekend, and tell me not a single one of them did something embarrassing or dangerous if they drank. I’m sure you couldn’t. Of course risky activity isn’t just a product of alcohol use — irresponsible abuse is what causes bizarre and outlandish Halloween stories. But the fact is with any drug situations, overindulgence will occur. These situations must be factored into the overall safety of each individual drug.

The study was created to question the current drug rating system in the U.K., but is just as relevant in the U.S. I believe this study should make us reevaluate our own beliefs and recreational habits so that we can decide for ourselves which lifestyle is the best to live by. I’m not saying that because heroin and crack are considered by the study to be less dangerous than alcohol we should all start bringing needles and crack pipes to the next house party — that’s not the point. What the study does is provide a concise and scientifically backed evaluation of the dangers of alcohol in relation to other drugs, so that you can understand the potential dangers of every drug, not just the illegal ones.

Being presented with this information is an odd feeling. Sure, alcohol may be just as dangerous overall as hard illegal drugs, but what do we do with this information? Just keep in mind that even though beer and booze commercials are plugged into your living room during your favorite shows, their effect on your outlook on life is not the same as watching your beloved episode of “Family Guy.” Just because alcohol has historically been our favorite drug does not mean it is our safest.

Go online and type this into your URL search bar: scribd.com/doc/16393904/How-Bad-Are-Illegal-Drugs-Lancet-Study. Take it upon yourself to know the dangers.

—Patrick Glendening in a philosophy and political science senior.

—The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of  The Daily Aztec.