From time to time we get some flack for pointing out that as a “recreational” substance, marijuana is safer than alcohol. Anyone who doubts that claim might want to look at this new study from The Lancet, one of the world’s top medical journals.

Researchers reviewed information on deaths in three major Russian cities from 1990 to 2001 and questioned family members about the decedents’ alcohol use, reporting the astonishing finding that “in several recent years, alcohol was a cause of more than half of all Russian deaths at ages 15-54 years.” Causes of death that were greatly increased by heavy alcohol use included accidents, violence, alcohol poisoning, and several types of cancer.

We’ve said it before, but we’ll keep saying it: No drug is 100% harmless, but marijuana simply does not cause anything near the wreckage that alcohol causes, even in very heavy users.