The head of Britain's leading medical research organisation rounded on the government yesterday for sacking its principal drugs adviser. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said scientists must be allowed to give "unfettered advice without the fear of reprisal". His criticism followed the abrupt dismissal of David Nutt on Friday. This weekend Nutt said many of his colleagues on the advisory council on the misuse of drugs, which he chaired, could resign in protest. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of them stepped down," he said. "Maybe all of them will." [continues 267 words]
GOVERNMENT advisers are likely to reject a tougher line on cannabis despite mounting concerns about the drug's potential dangers and reservations by Tony Blair and the home secretary. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will meet this week to decide whether to review new evidence suggesting cannabis can cause mental illness. Before the election Charles Clarke asked the committee to reassess the government's decision 16 months ago to downgrade crimes involving cannabis. Both Clarke and Tony Blair are understood to regret the decision, which coincided with an influx of stronger strains of the drug to Britain. [continues 382 words]
MINISTERS are to press ahead with "decriminalising" cannabis despite public concern that it will encourage an explosion in drug abuse. David Blunkett, the home secretary, is to risk a public backlash by announcing in July his plans to reclassify cannabis, allowing those who possess it to escape arrest. The move could see the drug effectively legalised across Britain by the end of the year. Ministers and police chiefs insist that a controversial pilot scheme in Brixton, south London, has been an "undoubted success", allowing police to concentrate on tackling street dealers and violent crime. [continues 608 words]
THE government's top advisers on drugs are considering relaxing the law on ecstasy, the rave drug used by an estimated 2m young people. A key member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the statutory body set up to advise ministers on drugs policy, says there are grounds for downgrading ecstasy from a class A drug to class B. Such a move would halve the maximum sentence for conviction in a magistrates' court for possession to three months. [continues 651 words]
Police officers responsible for protecting Prince William are understood to have requested advice from their superiors amid growing concern about drug-taking among those in his circle. The officers are said to have sought "clarification" about what action to take over the use of cocaine by those who socialise with the prince. Their move comes amid mounting concern in royal circles over the growing numbers of reports that friends of William, 17, who is still at Eton, have admitted taking cocaine. [continues 228 words]
