REVIEW RSS FEED
BRITISH HOME SECRETARY SACKS ADVISER WHO TOLD THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS
Guardian, UK - Alan Johnson, the home secretary, has sacked Professor David Nutt as senior drugs adviser after the scientist renewed his criticism of the government's decision to toughen the law on cannabis.
Johnson wrote to Nutt saying he no longer had confidence in him as chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs and asking for him to consider his position.
Nutt had accused ministers of "devaluing and distorting" the scientific evidence over illicit drugs by their decision last year to reclassify cannabis from class C to class B against the advice of the ACMD.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The home secretary expressed surprise and disappointment over Professor Nutt's comments which damage efforts to give the public clear messages about the dangers of drugs."
In his reply, Nutt said: "If scientists are not allowed to engage in the debate then you devalue their contribution to policymaking."
The sacking is likely to raise concerns among scientists over the independence of advice to the government and may trigger further resignations.
The Home Office describes the ACMD as a independent expert body that advises on drug-related issues including recommendations on classification under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.
Johnson wrote to Nutt saying he no longer had confidence in him as chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs and asking for him to consider his position.
Nutt had accused ministers of "devaluing and distorting" the scientific evidence over illicit drugs by their decision last year to reclassify cannabis from class C to class B against the advice of the ACMD.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The home secretary expressed surprise and disappointment over Professor Nutt's comments which damage efforts to give the public clear messages about the dangers of drugs."
In his reply, Nutt said: "If scientists are not allowed to engage in the debate then you devalue their contribution to policymaking."
The sacking is likely to raise concerns among scientists over the independence of advice to the government and may trigger further resignations.
The Home Office describes the ACMD as a independent expert body that advises on drug-related issues including recommendations on classification under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.
2 Comments:
"Sacked for telling the truth."
Truth is a leading means of suicide in any organization -- most especially government and politics.
"US domestic drug policy does not carry out its stated goals, and policymakers are well aware of that. If it isn't about reducing substance abuse, what is it about? It is reasonably clear, both from current actions and the historical record, that substances tend to be criminalized when they are associated with the so-called dangerous classes, that the criminalization of certain substances is a technique of social control.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Noam_Chomsky
Post a Comment
<< Home