They couldn't wait.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8334774.stm
Drugs adviser sacked for comments
The UK's chief drugs adviser has been sacked by home secretary Alan
Johnson after criticising government policies.
Professor David Nutt, head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs,
criticised the decision to reclassify cannabis to Class B from C.
He accused ministers of devaluing and distorting evidence and said drugs
classification was being politicised.
The home secretary said he had "lost confidence" in his advice and asked
him to step down.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is the UK's official
drugs advisory body.
Earlier this week Prof Nutt used a lecture at King's College, London, to
attack what he called the "artificial" separation of alcohol and tobacco
from illegal drugs.
The professor said smoking cannabis created only a "relatively small risk"
of psychotic illness, and claimed those who advocated moving ecstasy into
Class B had "won the intellectual argument".
Ecstasy horse claim
Public concern over the links between high-strength cannabis, known as
skunk, and mental illness led the government to reclassify cannabis to
Class C last year.
In the past, Prof Nutt has also claimed that taking ecstasy is no more
dangerous than riding a horse.
In a letter, the home secretary wrote: "I cannot have public confusion
between scientific advice and policy and have therefore lost confidence in
your ability to advise me as Chair of the ACMD.
"I would therefore ask you to step down from the Council with immediate
effect."
In his reply, Prof Nutt said he was "disappointed" by the sentiments
expressed by Mr Johnson.
He added: "Whilst I accept that there is a distinction between scientific
advice and government policy there is clearly a degree of overlap.
"If scientists are not allowed to engage in the debate at this interface
then you devalue their contribution to policy making and undermine a major
source of carefully considered and evidence-based advice."
--
John Watson
London
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