David Nutt, the British chief drug adviser has been fired because of his giving of his opinion that Marijuana, LSD, and Ecstasy are much safer than the gov. is treating them under the British drug classification system.
The UK’s drugs czar, who was sacked for publicly criticising government policy, has branded Gordon Brown and his cabinet "irrational Luddites".
Professor David Nutt, who was dismissed as chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) yesterday after he claimed that illegal drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy are less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, is warning that more senior scientific advisors are set to walk out over the row over drug classification.
He was asked to resign by Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who claimed he has "lost confidence" in the expert’s political impartiality.
Sacked drugs expert, Professor David Nutt, hits out at 'Luddite' Government
This story all started over Home Secretary Alan Johnson firing David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, for basically "crossing a line" into politics. That line includes Professor Nutt saying things like " "Gordon Brown makes completely irrational statements about cannabis being 'lethal', which it is not."
This could all come to head soon. If more members of the unpaid Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resign over outrage things in the UK could become dicey. So far it appears at least one other member has already resigned and maybe more.
The Government is facing mass resignations from the official advisory body on drugs following the sacking of its chairman, The Times has learnt.
Two members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs quit today in protest at David Nutt's dismissal by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, in a dispute over the relative harm caused by drugs and alcohol.
Dr Les King, a chemist, resigned saying that the Home Secretary had denied Professor Nutt his right to free speech and called for the council to become truly independent of politicans. He was swiftly followed by a second member, Marion Walker, a pharmacist, who is clinical director with the substance misuse service at the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
More resignations are expected to follow unless the Home Secretary provides assurances about the council’s future freedom.
Much different than the US Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, a former Chief of Police, the Drug Czar in the UK is a Scientist. Kerlikowske when swore in promises to lie to all Americans about the facts and safety about Marijuana. As a Scientist Professor Nutt must deal in facts and truths that do not allow him to hide behind the politics of any issue that would say Marijuana is more dangerous than it is. With Americans in Ca. preparing ballots to legalize Marijuana it is debates like this playing out in the publics view that could change to worlds view of Marijuana. The ACMD is a much respected group in the UK and up to this time mainly nonpolitical. As more and more resign over the gov. making things crimes out of plain politics instead of the truth maybe the public will finally awake to these undemocratic type laws.