#84 Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List Part 2 episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 8, 2026 · 1H 24M

#84 Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List Part 2

from The Giants Shoulder · host Evan McGloughlin

Try Sentia Spirits this Dry January: https://tinyurl.com/giantsshoulder (10% Discount with Code GIANT10)Professor 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.After the first drug tier list sparked an overwhelming response, this round two episode goes deeper. In this rapid-fire sequel, Nutt ranks twelve more drugs on the same harm scale, responding directly to audience feedback and tackling substances that viewers demanded we cover. From benzodiazepines and methamphetamine to vaping, ayahuasca, kratom, 2C-B, caffeine, and nitrous oxide, this episode exposes how dose, context, purity, and policy shape real-world risk far more than headlines ever admit.Expect to learn why benzodiazepine withdrawal can be more dangerous than heroin, how meth differs from “speed” at the molecular and historical level, why vaping nicotine is dramatically safer than smoking, how ayahuasca works as indigenous polypharmacy, what we actually know (and don’t know) about endogenous DMT, why kratom sits between medicine and dependence, how edible cannabis changes overdose risk, why nitrous oxide bans backfire, where 2C-B sits between MDMA and psychedelics, why caffeine can induce seizures at high doses, and how harm reduction consistently beats prohibition when it comes to saving lives.Timestamps: 01:00 Benzos 14:45 DMT & Ayahuasca 32:23 Meth & Speed 45:47 Nicotine Vapes 52:28 Kratom 55:40 Sentia 58:07 Edible Cannabis 01:06:26 Caffeine 01:09:35 2-CB01:19:46 Nitrous Oxide ...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/research ❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - https://www.youtube.com/@thegiantsshoulder?sub_confirmation=1💚 Follow on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=Ka2rAQv7TyqiC9wvGwERpA💜 Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

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#84 Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List Part 2

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