Drug tsar sacked for inconvenient scientific opinions.

The Governments chief scientific advisor, shortly before enjoying a ketamine sundae

Chief drugs advisor to the Government David Nutt has been sacked from his post, after a string of “controversial statements” – the most recent being that LSD and Cannabis were less harmful than alcohol.

He’s already enraged the Government and Tory Tabloids by saying that Ecstasy was less dangerous than horse riding, and argued that Cannabis should not be upgraded to a class B drug.

The Government clearly are no longer interested in having scientists independent of party politics take part in an informed discussion about drug use in the UK. Ecstasy and LSD like all drugs are harmful, but they are not Heroin or Cocaine.

Most people who use Ecstasy or LSD do so recreationally, and the deaths caused by these drugs and the harm caused to families could be reduced if the Government supported a harm reduction strategy instead of a “just say no” policy which simply has no effect on most users.

Cannabis itself is clearly less harmful than Alcohol or Tobacco and it’s a disgrace that someone is fired for expressing the feelings of what the majority of Police, NHS workers and the general public know – that the abuse of Alcohol and Tobacco is much more widespread and damaging than that of Cannabis.

Leftfield isn’t “pro-drugs”, we are pro-recognising reality – people throughout Scotland and the UK use drugs regularly. Many of them have no intention of stopping because they don’t feel that drug use negatively impacts on their lifes.

Any drugs policy enacted by the Government should take alcohol into account and recognise that folk will take drugs, and do everything they can to reduce the harm it can do to people who do use them. The exception to this rule is Heroin, which is virtually impossible to take recreationally, and should be provided in a pure, safe form to addicts so they don’t die of overdoses and so they don’t commit crime to feed their habit.

Alongside that the Government should start considering why people abuse drugs – in Scotland, especially alcohol – as part of a strategy for people to have healthier lives.

SSY candidate for Drugs Tsar