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Alcohol ‘worse than LSD’
Thursday 29th October 2009, 9:09AM GMT.
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Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than both alcohol and cigarettes, the Government’s chief drug adviser has claimed.
Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, sparked the controversy in an attack on the decision to make cannabis a class B drug.
He accused former home secretary Jacqui Smith, who reclassified the drug, of “distorting and devaluing” scientific research.
Prof Nutt, who does not support legalisation, said smoking cannabis created only a “relatively small risk” of psychotic illness.
And he claimed advocates of moving ecstasy into class B from class A had “won the intellectual argument”.
All drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, should be ranked by a “harm” index, he said, with alcohol coming fifth behind cocaine, heroin, barbiturates, and methadone.
Tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy.
Prof Nutt said: “No one is suggesting that drugs are not harmful. The critical question is one of scale and degree.
“We need a full and open discussion of the evidence and a mature debate about what the drug laws are for – and whether they are doing their job.”
In a lecture and briefing 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 also repeated his claim that the risks of taking ecstasy are no worse than riding a horse.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Prof Nutt’s views are his own and do not reflect the views of Government. The Government is clear – we are determined to crack down on all illegal substances and minimise their harm to health and society as a whole.”
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what a Nutt
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Roman Bednar deals them all! The albions fans will need a few to get them through at the moment. There all bad very clear, dont take them!
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It shouldn’t take a proffesor to work out that fags and booze cause more problems than any illegal drug.
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what morons,
LEGALIZE them!!!! then you can keep the damage at a minumum….. because they are never going away! EVER!!!! just like crooked mp,s but Nooo!!! they will put u in prison forever… come the next revolution these experts will be FIRST against the wall.!!! you could sell tickets to it.
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Again the goverment will ignore these scientific findings and instead make criminal of somebody who likes to sit at home , minding there own business having a little smoke. Or the young guys and girls who decide to take a little tablet and dance and be friendly at weekends. Meanwhile the drunks and the louts are fine as there drug of chocie is taxable
crazy world
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Why do so called educated people come out with such stupid statements, this kind of stupid comments only encourage people to use more illegal drugs. Alcohol and nicotine already cause a great deal of damage to people’s health but to suggest that illegal drugs are safer is plain stupidity. the clue is probably in the word illegal as their production is not regulated as with alcohol etc. Nutt by nut by nature
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I bet if we check his history he’s had his name changed by deed poll. He probably had the “er” removed as it was too descriptive.
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Why do so called educated people come out with such stupid statements, these kind of stupid comments only encourage people to use more illegal drugs. Alcohol and nicotine already cause a great deal of damage to people’s health but to suggest that illegal drugs are safer is plain stupidity. the clue is probably in the word illegal as their production is not regulated as with alcohol etc. Nutt by name nut by nature
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The man speaks alot of sense, alcohol causes as much pain and misery to families as many so called illegal drugs. But for some reason its socialy acceptable
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Alcohol abuse kills over 15,000 in the UK each year, loads of domestic violence, fighting at pub and closing times, wasted police time.
Tobacco kills over 100,000 in the UK each year from smoking related illnesses.
It is simply impossible to take a dose of cannabis large enough to cause death – cannabis – 0 deaths per year.
LSD – 0 deaths per year.
Ecstasy – 1 or 2 deaths per year if that.
The Government have the public brainwashed, it is the legal drugs that they make so much in taxes from that are by far the most dangerous drugs known to man. If the Government want a war on drugs, have the war against all drugs, not just the ones they cannot tax.
Look at cannabis and Magic mushrooms, both grow naturally in many parts of the world, the Government cannot make them against the law.
Doesn’t it sound a little unnatural to make nature illegal?
We are all unique beings and we can put whatever we want into OUR bodies as long as we do not cause any harm or injury to others and as long as we are not stealing from others to fund a habit.
It’s not a war on drugs but a war on freedom. The Government want to keep us away from altered states of consciousness through the use of plants/psychedelics, what are they afraid of?
The only altered state the Government want us to experience is drunkenness through alcohol and we all know the damage and destruction/violence alcohol causes.
Here in England by law a child of 5 years of age can legally drink alcohol on private property but the 5 year old drinking alcohol legally on private property shall never be old enough to legally smoke pot, a flower of a plant that cannot kill.
Got to take the laws set by the Government with a pinch of salt sometimes, they only know what is best for filling their pockets, not for us the people.
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Kolchack, you say ‘the clue is probably in the word illegal as their production is not regulated as with alcohol etc.’
I’m not sure what you’re saying? Are you saying that alcohol is safe because it is regulated?
Or that a problem with ‘ilegal drugs’ is that you don’t know how they are produced/what’s in them etc?
If it’s the first, then you are quite misguided. If it’s the latter then perhaps drugs should be legalised so that there can be some form of quality control
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