Editing Recreational drug use (section)

===Drug harmfulness===
[[File:Drug danger and dependence.svg|alt=|thumb|Chart of drug dependence potential and relationship between use and lethal dose<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpZhjBuDkuwC&pg=PA149 |title=Drugs and Society: U.S. Public Policy |last=Fish |first=Jefferson M |date=2006 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9780742542457 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[File:HarmCausedByDrugsTable.svg|thumb|alt=A chart showing relative drug harm of.|Chart of relative harmfulness of some psychoactive substances<ref name="pmid21036393"/>]]
Drug harmfulness is defined as the degree to which a [[psychoactive drug]] has the potential to cause harm to the user and is measured in several ways, such as by [[Substance use disorder|addictiveness]] and the potential for physical harm. More objectively harmful drugs may be colloquially referred to as "hard drugs",<ref name=hardaz>{{cite book |title=The A-Z Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drug Abuse |url=https://archive.org/details/azencyclopediaal00nord |url-access=limited |author=Thomas Nordegren |year=2002 |isbn=1-58112-404-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/azencyclopediaal00nord/page/n326 327] |publisher=[[Brown Walker Press]] |location=Parkland, Fla.}}</ref> and less harmful drugs as "soft drugs".<ref name=softaz>{{cite book |title=The A-Z Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drug Abuse |url=https://archive.org/details/azencyclopediaal00nord|url-access=limited |author=Thomas Nordegren |year=2002 |isbn=1-58112-404-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/azencyclopediaal00nord/page/n596 597] |publisher=Brown Walker Press |location=Parkland, Fla.}}</ref> The term "soft drug" is considered controversial by critics as it may imply the false belief that soft drugs cause lesser or insignificant harm.<ref name=softaz/>