Drugs czar warns of protest resignations

Sat Oct 31 2009 16:08:46

Gordon Brown has been warned his top advisors may quit in protest at the departure of drugs czar Professor David Nutt.

The former chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs claimed other members of the Government panel were ready to follow him out of the door.

He was forced to quit amid controversy about his views on the harmfulness of drugs and his criticism of Government policies.

A 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.

He had earlier been scathing about then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Gordon Brown's decision to upgrade cannabis to class B in defiance of his advice.

Prof Nutt said: "He is the first Prime Minister, this is the first Government, that has ever in the history of the Misuse of Drugs Act gone against the advice of its scientific panel."

He added: "And then it did it again with ecstasy and I have to say it's not about (me) over-stepping the line, it's about the Government over-stepping the line. They are making scientific decisions before they've even consulted with their experts."

Prof Nutt went on to say that many of the other 30 members of the drugs advisory council were highly disgruntled by the Government's position and could also be set to resign.

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