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Interesting how everyone here is banging on about how the government lies about drugs - without fully and clearly explaining how and why - in clear, articulate English.

Most of you sound like uneducated pro-drug folks who want more children to take up weed smoking instead of drinking. How about . . we get rid of all these things across the board and encourage our children to get 'high' from exercise or achievements in life instead of drugs?

The Government are protecting us poor taxpayers (who work and don't sit around getting stoned all day) so that people who can't control their need to take drugs don't end up costing the NHS a fortune for Mental Health drugs and therapists X years down the line!

Everyone here is also spouting off about the 'evidence' that drugs aren't bad - where is it then? If YOU want credibility, give me studies, give me references!

- Le Sigh, London

now here is another the goverment is law so therefore they decide ,,so why this comment [[[The Home Office said his opinions "do not reflect the views of government".]]] This man may lose his job and they where the people who needed advice. I thought he was just being honest,and plus the issue being put on children,,please don,t try to tell me what is good for our health because alcohol certainly ain,t working for me
Here is a fact i was offered cannabis as a youngster but i,m the one to decide, so i started testing at 17-18 years old [ put in the fact i had been drinking for years previous to this, so now that i tested the cannabis it was far more able to be a good social person, Rather than to be a drunken youth. tell me this , how many people that are high do you see hanging around pubs at night causing fights and argument,s remember this suits the police just fine,,why because they need money to run there system,, and on the other hand a person brought into a station with a small portion of cannabis but no violence and calmly in order with whats going on ,, remember one thing if cannabis was legal all local dealers who deal cannabis would go out of business and eventually we would be gone with cannabis being dealt on the streets, so once again a youngster would need to see a doctor to be able to get it. if there,s no dealer how do children get hold of it ,, think the big picture not just your own thoughts on how to solve a problem

- Scotland, scotland

"If we reclassify cannabis as less harmful than alcohol it could influence more children to take it up."
Would that really be a worse situation? Especially now that there is mountains of evidence building which disproves Cannabis-schizophrenia causative link, and especially considering that for a young person they need to drink a lot more alcohol before they feel the effects, compared to adults, which worryingly means the amount of alcohol needed to overdose on is not much more than the amount need to make a child drunk.

But the key thing in David Nutt's statement, for me (putting aside the subject of drugs) is that he has quite rightly pointed out the shear arrogance of the government (even in the Home Offices reply to him today) when they frequently ignore expert advice, fact based evidence, critically thought through arguments & conclusions in favour of moral/sensationalist/populist/tabloid opinion. The members of the ACMD are proper expert, with relevant qualification & experience and who have spent their working lives collecting & evaluating evidence from a wide range of sources, they are not the self-proclaimed 'experts' who frequently appeared massaging their ego on tabloid columns which every one gets fed up with hearing them preach.

Politicians are on very thin ice, Lieing and misleading people are thing which the vast majority of the public (excluding those who get their education from TV propaganda and glossy mags) WILL NOT STAND FOR!

- Chris, Plymouth

He needs a pay increase and a promotion. Those in denial of the truth need an awakening.

- Meanpeace, Sylacauga united states

About "If we reclassify cannabis as less harmful than alcohol it could influence more children to take it up."

Surely children switching to something less harmful is positive? What is the beef?

- Leslie H, Zürich, Switzerland

o.k i feel the need to say something about this as this issue has bugged me for a long time, firstly proffesor nutt is bang on and it is really beggining to annoy me that polititons are basing the law on what I can only put down to personal oppinion I remember awhile ago a certain high ranking police officer saying something against the laws on drugs aswell. If scince and the police are saying the law on drugs need to be changed then they both cant be wrong, it becomes painfully obvious that the goverment are simply not listning when drugs where legal we had far less problems with addiction or crime, having delt with an alcoholic father i can say with confidence that my childhood would have been far better if I came home from school to my dad smoking s apliff or dropping a few pills plus he would probably still be alive. The way people view drugs has changed rapidly over the last few decades and our politicians need to acknowledge this and act accordingly if they want to remain to be seen as "reprsenting the inrests of the people" instead of backing everything th u.s.a desides to declare war on, i mean come on it fuels terrorism really if so its only because it was given to the black market, it causes crime only because addiction is being treated like a criminal problem instead of a medical one, seriously we as a country need to stop trying to scare and punish addicts and treat them like the unfortunate people they are in need of societys help

- Tom, uxbridge

Mr Nutt is right, Cannabis is a very safe drug, lets legalize it!

- Adam, Plymouth

Professor Nutt, well at least he has the right name ‘Professor Nutt’ when you make such a ridiculous statement as Alcohol and cigarettes more harmful than Ecstasy and LSD.

So what’s next, a total ban on Cigarettes and all Booze by New Nazi Labour?

Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk

- Carl Barron, Christchurch, Dorset

All hail David Nutt! Our government does not want us to hear the truth. Jackie Smith is scum and a liar. Are we actually going to sit here and believe these politicians who have already been exposed as liars. Cannabis is not a dangerous substance, Cannabis does not cause Schizophrenia, Cannabis does not kill brain cells, Cannabis does not cause any harm to the human body! Those are all facts that they don't want us to hear.

How can it be illegal here but in over 20 states in America it is now legal and the fastest growing prescribed medicine available?

Everything the media or the government have told you about Cannabis is a lie. Do not stand for it. Find out the truth for yourselves people.

Fact: No deaths have ever been caused by Cannabis
Fact: Cannabis can cure cancer
Fact: Cannabis can cure eating disorders
Fact: Cannabis can cure glaucoma
Fact: Cannabis is an anti-emetic, a drug that relieves nausea and allows patients to eat and live normally
Fact: Cannabis can treat asthma, strokes, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, alcoholism and insomnia
Fact: Cannabis contains the strongest fibres of any living plant which can be used to make paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and fuel.

We need to address these issues. We cannot let our governments make up laws and prohibitions based on PURE LIES!!

Ignorance kills more people than Marijuana.

- Lab Sherifi, London

I feel the government deliberately went against the advice of it's own scientific advisors because they felt that there would be more votes in it if they decided to bash cannabis users some more. The government would make themselves far more popular if they announced: "Yes, we have now seen that prohibition is an experiment that has been tried and has miserably failed"
The administration in America is just starting on the right path now, wih the easing of persecution of medical users of cannabis. I have always felt that it would be the Americans to be the first to ease up on Cannabis prohibition as they saw the effect of prohibition on alcohol: All alcoholic drinks were then sold by criminals who were violent gangs, having no regard for their customers and often supplying tainted and poisonous drinks. Alcohol abuse did not decrease during prohibition, the economy suffered due to loss of taxation and a large percentage of a whole generation of young people were criminalised by this disasterous policy. My only surprise is that it has taken SO LONG for the authorities there to wake up to the reality of the situation. They still have a long way to go but they are now making moves in the right direction, something the government in this country would do well to recognise.

- Dan, Cumbria

As Dave Nutt has often stated, if alcohol had been discovered/invented last week, you can be sure it would have been made illegal.

The only reason politicians (and a large section of the public) are so down on drugs like cannabis and ecstasy is purely because they are already illegal. Conversely, they are perfectly comfortable with alcohol because it is legal. This is a completely circular way of thinking "it's illegal so it muct be bad; it's legal so it must be fine"

It takes no account of the actual facts about the various drugs (and please, let us stop pretending alcohol is not a drug). The facts speak for themselves. Alcohol is clearly dangerous. In addition to the deaths it causes (almost 8000 in 2007 in the UK alone), it creates mayhem on the streets of most of our cities every weekend of the year. Look at the negative effects of cannabis and ecstasy. They are entirely trivial in comparison.

It is time we dropped our prejudices and actually took a rational view of the facts! Politicians are terrified of saying something that might sound un-PC or controversial. When you are seeking re-election, it doesn't help you to speak the inconvenient truth, so instead you continue to spout populist nonsense.

- Stuart Taylor, Oxford UK

Legalise it! Legalise all drugs for personal consumption. If the example of Portugal is anything to go by then there will be fewer cases of HIV, and both drug consumption and crimes associated with it will fall. In the Netherlands where skunk is readily available the numbers of young people taking up the drug have fallen in recent years. It's just not that cool if it's legal. While some people are susceptible to psychosis when using skunk the number actually so affected is next to none. If England legalised weed and made alcohol illegal the A&E departments across the country would be practically empty especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

- Paul, Leiden, NL

The Professor is calling for a full and open debate of the evidence and mature debate of what drugs laws are for and wether they are doing their job.In particular he is highlighting the artificial separation of alcohol and tobacco from illegal drugs which have devastating effects on society which are far in excess of those of illegal drugs.He has criticised the re-classification of cannabis to class B as this was not supported by medical evidence and was based on political considerations .
For some reason newspapers and politicians have difficulty in understanding this in the same way that they refuse to understand the need for debate on matters such as immigration.We should thank him for his honest and expert views which are evidence based hence the need for the open debate.

- Baldini, London England

Thought of the day.

Cannabacaea family:
Humulus Lupulus (Hops)
Cannabis Sativa (Hemp)
------------------------
Tobacco (Nicotiana family)

3 Plants, 2 of these plants are legal to grow in your garden, 1 of them is illegal.

Prohibition never worked.

- Mo Clark, Southampton, UK

There is none so blind as those who refuse to see. Can we stick to the facts please. question how many deaths are caused by cannibas each, compare that with how many deaths caused by alcohol each year. The evidence is clear that alcohol caused more death by far that cannibas. be honest to yourself now, which is safer?
I agree 100% with David, the only reason cannibas was reclassified because it is used by minority groups and they are the scapegoat for all of our problems.

- Derrick, London uk

"If we reclassify cannabis as less harmful than alcohol it could influence more children to take it up."
This makes no difference; kids do what they want anyway; and dealers do not risk having their licence taken away for selling to a minor. Also this does not address the main issue that millions of adults chose to smoke cannabis. Either way, what's the alternative? Lie to everybody?

"The Home Office said his opinions "do not reflect the views of government"." - These are not personal opinions; this man was hired by the government for his expertise!! They chose to ignor the findings. Next time no doubt the government will hire somebody specifically to say what they wanted to hear.

- Chris, Paignton, UK

I believe that Professor Nutt is totally right. Drugs policy should be based on scientific evidence, not personal opinion and prejudice. Correct information should be provided about drugs, rather than scaremongering (watch one of the FRANK adverts....!!!)

- Lucy, London

The man is right though, and if he is being forced to resign for telling the truth it is a very huge blow to democracy. The only reason marijuana is illegal is because the huge paper producers do not want to lose their money to hemp production.

- Joe Bloggs, Chester

Why should he resign. He is an expert and he has stated his views. Nothing more.

- Richard, Spain

I agree with Professor Nutt. What was the point of spending tax payers money on a scientifically based report which the politicians then ignored?

The government were wrong to reclassify Cannabis to class b.

I think Cannabis is less harmful than Alcohol and Tobacco. It is strange that the law allows anyone to grow hops (for alcohol) which come from the same plant family (Cannabacaea) as Cannabis and also for any strain of Tobacco plant to be grown without fear of prosecution. It is not currently illegal to grow your Hops or Tobacco in the UK.

3 Different plants, 2 come from the same plant family, 1 is illegal. WHY?

14 States in America have sanctioned the medicinal use of Cannabis upon presentation of a Doctors prescription. It is about time the UK government recognised that many suffer and will continue to suffer until the law is changed so that Doctors & their patients have a choice when prescribing a drug.

As George Bush stated in his State of the Union Address 23rd Jan 2007

"in all we do, we must remember that the best health care decisions are made not by government and insurance
companies, but by patients and their doctors".

Unless this government change their stance and the law then I see Labour losing at the next general election.

Alcohol prohibition never worked in the 1920's it later bacame legal, regulated and taxed. It put Al Capone out of the business.

Prohibition on drugs is funding the same criminal element in the 21st century.

- Mo Clark, Southampton, UK

what a clown. A boozed-up bag lady is a lot safer to general health than a skunk-addled psychotic with a drug-induced paranoia and access to the tube network.

- Squiz, Islington

The bloke is spot on and most people have known this for years.

As regards Ecstasy probably well over a billion tablet have been consumed in the UK since the mid '80s yet deaths have have been relatively few and most of the, such as Leah Betts, actually died from an allergic reaction to the drug in the same way people die from eating nuts.

I cannot believe why mushrooms were re-graded to Class A a few years back; definitely less harmful than booze or ciggies

- Mark, South-East London

Well done, Dave, for continuing to stand up for common sense! Don't be put off by the ignorant and conservative, sound-bite chasing politicians.

- Stuart Taylor, Oxford UK

"If we reclassify cannabis as less harmful than alcohol it could influence more children to take it up." - Instead of alcohol? GREAT! How could you not think that would be positive for our country? You'd need to be exceedingly ignorant on the issue wouldn't you?

- David, London

Clearhead, said: "If we reclassify cannabis as less harmful than alcohol it could influence more children to take it up."

So we continue to tell children lies then do we?

Ms Smith's decision to reclassify cannabis sent mixed messages

So we are expected to believe HER! a proven LIAR.

We should listen to the experts, not political liars.

- Norris Nuvo, cardiff

But it is. Shoot the guy that doesn't conform to socially accepted standards despite overwhelming medical evidence.

- Mr Opinion, London

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