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Three more drug advisers quit
11.11.09
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Three drug advisers have dealt the Government a further blow by resigning from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
Chemist Simon Campbell, psychologist John Marsden and scientific consultant Ian Ragan stepped down following showdown talks with Home Secretary Alan Johnson on Tuesday.
The meeting was held amid the fall-out from the sacking of the Government's chief drugs adviser Professor David Nutt over his controversial remarks about cannabis, Ecstasy and LSD.
Two other advisers - Marion Walker and Les King - had already quit the committee
A Home Office spokesman described the latest resignations as "regrettable" but maintained the discussions with the ACMD were "constructive".
Dr Campbell said he did not want to comment on his resignation until he had formally written to the Home Secretary.
Dr Campbell, a former president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, previously worked for Pfizer and was part of the research teams that discovered Viagra.
Dr Marsden is a research psychologist and senior lecturer in addictive behaviour based at the Institute of Psychiatry, while Dr Ragan is director of CIR Consultancy Ltd, which provides services to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
The sacking of Prof Nutt more than a week ago prompted a wave of protest from the scientific community.
Prof Nutt, who was barred from the meeting, said he had spoken to each of the resigning advisers and attributed their decision to quit to a refusal by ministers to respect scientific principles.
