#48 Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 11, 2025 · 54 MIN

#48 Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List

from The Giants Shoulder · host Evan McGloughlin

Check out Sentia Spirits the future of drinking (Use Code GIANT10 for 10% discount off your first purchase: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Professor David Nutt is a neuro­psychopharmacologist, former UK chief drug adviser, and author of Drugs Without the Hot Air, Drink?, Cannabis, and Psychedelics. He built the first evidence-based Drug Harm Scale, ran the world’s first LSD brain-scan, and is now engineering hangover-free “alcohol” with GABA science.Drug policy often punishes the wrong substances. In this rapid-fire tier-list episode, Nutt ranks ten headline drugs—LSD to fentanyl—by real-world harm, exposing how politics, potency and route of use twist our perceptions and our laws.Expect to learn why alcohol and tobacco still out-kill every illegal drug, how MDMA became both a rave staple and a prescription therapy, the science behind ketamine’s antidepressant buzz and its bladder danger, why 2 mg of fentanyl can be fatal, how smoking vs injecting changes heroin risk, what makes high-THC cannabis a new drug entirely, the true neurotoxicity story of cocaine, why psilocybin and LSD aren’t addictive, how Sentia mimics a glass of wine without the damage, and much more…Timestamps:00:00 Intro 00:55 LSD09:55 MDMA24:16 Cocaine34:21 Psilocybin37:09 Fentanyl40:57 Cannabis 43:35 Tobacco45:00 Alcohol49:49 Ketamine51:20 Heroin...Buy Nutt's Books Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health: https://amzn.to/4dZTP9ZPsychedelics: The Revolutionary Drugs That Could Change Your Life―A Guide from the Expert: https://amzn.to/3SJXAX6Drugs without the hot air: Making sense of legal and illegal drugs: https://amzn.to/4kyu7eSCannabis (Seeing Through the Smoke): The New Science of Cannabis and Your Health: https://amzn.to/3FOiLo2Check out the amazing work of Drug Science (Dr David Nutt's Charity) Website - https://www.drugscience.org.uk/Prof Nutt Twitter (X) - @ProfDavidNuttDrug Science SocialsFacebook - @DrugScienceISCDTwitter (x) - @drug_scienceInstagram - @drugscienceinfoLinkedIn - @drugscience-ltdBlueSky - @drugscience.bsky.socialYouTube - @DrugScienceMore Resources on Drug SafetyMedical Cannabis: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/medical-cannabis-working-groupMedical Psychedelics: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/medical-psychedelics-working-groupHarm Reduction: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/enhanced-harm-reduction-working-groupAcademic Research: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/researchFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )[Brain.FM](http://brain.fm/): Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)[Consensus.AI](http://consensus.ai/): AI Powered Research (Use Code THEGIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)

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#48 Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List

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