Drug Train
wouldn't usually wish to appear overtly political,
but the sacking of the Chairman of the ACMD by the
Home Secretary, Alan Johnson appears clearly wrong.
Professor Nutt has been sacked from the government's
expert advisory body (ACMD)
for telling the media
(for
a more in depth report click here) that
his review of the scientific evidence shows that
cannabis, ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than
alcohol and tobacco. Since the ACMD was set up in
1971, UK governments have nearly always acted upon
their advice – until recently. In 2008 they rejected
the ACMD's advice that cannabis should stay in class
C; and in 2009 they rejected their advice that
ecstasy should be downgraded to class B. Two further
members of the ACMD have now also resigned.
As
of yet unconfirmed reports (26th June 2009) suggest
that Michael Jackson may have died from
respiratory depression as a result of an injection
of the painkiller
Demerol rather than from plain Cardiac Arrest.
The musician had allegedly been taking the
prescription painkiller for a number of years since
setting fire to his hair filming a Pepsi Commercial and
breaking a vertebrae and his leg in an accident
falling of stage.
2008
A link to a Radio One podcast
on Ketamine that can be accessed through the
Ketamine page.
A link
to a podcast from
Howard
'Señor Nice' Marks on why he thinks cannabis
should be legalised and how he nearly became the UK
Drug Czar.
Click
here to open the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) repost on Afghan opium
cultivation.
