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Nutt: Hand out mephedrone in clubs
26 Mar 2010- Reporter 'wanted to finish story'
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Mephedrone should be handed out in nightclubs, the Government's former drugs tsar said.
Professor David Nutt said doling out small amounts of the drug with guidance on its use would be "safer" than banning it.
In an interview with the London Evening Standard, Professor Nutt said criminal gangs would be "rubbing their hands" at the prospect of the drug being outlawed by the Government.
Ministers are expected to receive a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on Monday.
Les Iversen, Prof Nutt's successor, has hinted they will recommend the drug will be made Class B, along with amphetamines and cannabis.
Prof Nutt, who was sacked as ACMD chairman after saying ecstasy was less harmful than alcohol, proposed regulating mephedrone - known as M-Cat or Miaow Miaow - rather than forcing dealers on to the black market.
He told the newspaper: "I wouldn't be against exploring the possibility of some sort of regulated use for MDMA or mephedrone where people, maybe in clubs, could have access to small amounts, safe amounts under guidance."
He added: "It would probably be safer than what we're doing at present."
Teachers' groups called for a ban last week after the deaths of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, in Scunthorpe.
And the family of a 24-year-old woman who died after taking mephedrone paid tribute to their "perfect daughter". Lois Waters was found dead at a friend's house in the village of Norton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, on Monday.
Reader views (2)
"All restricted drugs could be given away, but in a seedy way, to attach an image of failure to those who take part." This is partly the problem when it comes to some drugs namely cannabis and mdma, the social portrayal of these drugs or people that do these drugs are bad. From a purely scientific point of view alcohol and tobacco asre far worse but it is the media that portrays it otherwise: Reporting on every ecstacy-related death, of which there are less than 50 of a year (somewhere around 30) and not the thousands of alcohol and tobacco related deaths per year. The portrayal of these drugs hides the facts. Until the media stops misleading it's middle-aged, middle-class readers then it unlikely any policy on drugs will change.
- Maxs, London, 26/03/2010 16:47
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'Professor David Nutt said doling out small amounts of the drug with guidance on its use would be "safer" than banning it.'
This argument applies to all drugs: we should be buying the poppies from the farmers in Afghanistan, and giving away small amounts of heroin in British clubs. Destroy the profit motive - and what free marketeer could deny that governments are good at destroying markets?- and the criminal motive evaporates, reducing a crime problem into purely a social-medical one. All restricted drugs could be given away, but in a seedy way, to attach an image of failure to those who take part.
- Mdj, london uk, 25/03/2010 22:52
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