My statement in October that alcohol was more dangerous than many illegal drugs, including cannabis, ecstasy, and LSD, referred back to a paper I published in The Lancet years ago. It would be an understatement, given the political, media, and academic interest, to say that I stirred up a hornets' nest in the UK Parliament and elsewhere. The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, sacked me from my role as chair of the ACMD (the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, on which I had served with distinction for 10 years), and the Conservative shadow minister said it should have happened earlier this year when I published a paper comparing the harms of ecstasy and another addiction (which I had termed “equasy”—ie, horse riding).
There are several important aspects of what has happened, which some are calling the Nutt-gate affair. The first is the overwhelming public support I received, with tens of thousands sending emails, signing up to protest websites, and a petition to the government to reinstate me. Many academic groups have come out in support and there is an online petition in the academic world. A protest march was held on Nov 7, organised by a group called “Students for sensible drugs policy”, whose name represents exactly what I am saying—drugs policy should be based on evidence and common sense, the two factors that should drive interventions to reduce drug-related harm. . . . . .
Read Full Article
