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Top Government drugs adviser forced to resign
Saturday, 31 October 2009
enlargeThe Government's chief drugs adviser was forced to resign in the wake of the row over the dangers of class A drugs.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson asked Professor David Nutt to resign as chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), saying he had “lost confidence” in his ability to give impartial advice.
He accused Prof Nutt of going beyond his remit as an evidence-based scientist and accused him of “lobbying for a change in Government policy”.
But Prof Nutt hit back, accusing the Government of “misleading” the public in its messages about drugs and of “Luddite” tendencies.
He linked his sacking to “political” considerations, citing the forthcoming election.
Professor Nutt sparked controversy this week when he said ecstasy and LSD were less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes, and criticised the decision to upgrade cannabis to class B.
Speaking after he agreed to step down Prof Nutt said: “It's unusual political times, I suppose, elections and all that. It's disappointing.
“But politics is politics and science is science and there's a bit of a tension between them sometimes.”
He attacked Prime Minister Gordon Brown for making what he said were “completely irrational” statements about cannabis.
Confessing himself “extremely surprised” by the decision, he said: “The danger is they (politicians) are misleading us. The scientific evidence is there, it's in all the reports we published.”
The row erupted earlier this week when, in a paper for the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London, Prof Nutt attacked what he called the “artificial” separation of alcohol and tobacco from other, illegal, drugs. All drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, should be ranked by a “harm” index, he said, with alcohol coming fifth behind cocaine, heroin, barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco should rank ninth ahead of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy, he said.
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Realist - "How can alcohol and tobacco come ahead of ecstasy and l.s.d. in his opinion?"
If you actually knew the facts of this case you would know that this is FACT that Alcohol and tobacco come ahead of them in terms of how dangerous they are. This takes into account many things.
Ecstacy for one makes the user feel a sence of empathy and love toward people close to them. It also gives them the urge to express it (hence the term "loved up"). Unlike Alcohol which its effects are seen daily to destroy peoples lives and familys. The government advertise Alcohol and tobacco everywhere and if there is every to be a "gateway drug" it will be one of these two legal drugs that your children try first.
Educate, regulate and legalise. Prohibition has been proven not to work. Wake up!
Posted by Neal | 03.11.09, 10:25 GMT
The government ignore the TRAINED EXPERTS opinion in this field simply because they told them what they didnt want to hear. If they said cannabis was dangerous it would be a different story. You only have to look at any UK city centre at 2am on a Saturday night to see the destruction caused by alcohol. Stabbings, shootings and violence all directly related to alcohol. Yet the criminals are the ones smoking a natural plant in the privacy of their own home.
Fair play to Prof Nutt for his comments and also Marion Walker for her stand. Hopefully more scientists follow her lead and step down. The more attention this gets in the publis eye the better. The ordinary people deserve better from a government who lie and make the rules as they feel regarless of expert opinion.
Posted by Neal | 02.11.09, 04:09 GMT
I do not want my children ever taking these drugs. We have enough problems in society, without making it worse. The government have a moral responsibility to regulate and control these vices, and others. God help us when we give in to everything that is bad for us.
Posted by Realist | 01.11.09, 18:30 GMT
How can alcohol and tobacco come ahead of ecstasy and l.s.d. in his opinion? The first two are not mind altering drugs. Too much alcohol make you lose your inhibitions and do only what is in you to do normally. If it makes you violent, then you are naturally violent. If it makes you tired and sleepy, then that it is the normal you. If it makes you say things you wouldn't normally say, then it is the truth. Tobacco kills over the long term, but doesn't make you crazy. Both ecstasy and lsd alter your mind, and create excess energy. Although you should never drink and drive, you still can with a certain amount of alcohol and all the tobacco in the world, but NOT with any ecstasy or lsd in your system. I think he should reconsider his ideas.
Posted by Realist | 01.11.09, 18:25 GMT
That's what you get for giving advice they didn't want to hear!
Stephen
Posted by Stephen | 31.10.09, 13:37 GMT
So politicians can get caught lying, cheating and stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds off the people and they still manage to keep their jobs, yet someone actually tells the truth and he gets sacked.
Alan Johnston, Gordon Brown, you are a disgrace. The sooner Labour call a general election the better, you do not deserve to serve the people.
Posted by Steven73 | 31.10.09, 09:09 GMT