Nutt sack

[ludwig]

What do people think of this - was the government right to sack him?
http://news.bbc.co.uk.../politics/8337185.stm

[jake-the-peg]

I was making a political point - this is after all the News forum and this is a political issue

You picked up on it - I didn't force you to leap to Cameron's defence

[jake-the-peg]

PS - yes the Lib Dems talk a lot of sense about a lot of things.

Probably a major reason they don't get elected -

[Sqad]

sherminater......without an expert Advisory Panel, the Government base their drugs policy on past medical expert opinion, prejudice, Political expedience and anecdotal evidence.

I have no objection to that.

[Sqad]

jake....I didn't "leap to Cameron's defence, I criticised him.

[LoftyLottie]

The reason they don't get elected is that people see it as a wasted vote regardless of their policies.

[sherminator]

the Government base their drugs policy on past medical expert opinion, prejudice, Political expedience and anecdotal evidence.

How on Earth can you have no objection to that!!!!!

They should base it on Scienctific Facts and anything else that might affect the subject matter. Personal prejudice is pathetic! Like that Mum who blames Facebook for her childs death. That is just stupid and if they can't take their own views out if it (or understand that there are more important factors than their own opinions then they shouldn't be doing the job!)

[Sqad]

Sherminator....in answer to your question.............because, I think, that I live in the real world.

[Oneeyedvic]

///sherminater......without an expert Advisory Panel, the Government base their drugs policy on past medical expert opinion, prejudice, Political expedience and anecdotal evidence.

I have no objection to that.

...........because, I think, that I live in the real world.
///

Yeah, why let those nasty things called facts get in the way. Much easier to listen to your own prejudices.

[brionon]

Sqad
To describe my opinion as Nonsense is, in itself, Nonsensical: Methinks I spot an Obssesive personality.

[Sqad]

brionin...you may well be right.

[tamborine]

Nutt says "horse riding is more dangerous than heroin" It certainly has risk as does descending stairs or crossing the road. That's not what The Gov expected to hear from Nutt's drugs research.

Quite right he be sacked - pay me instead, I could work that out!

[fredpuli47]

The real problem is the Misuse of Drugs Act being drafted the way it is. The categories of drug are meant to be in order of danger to the user. That's a scientific question. The government is meant to reassign drugs in the light of the latest scientific evidence, The advisory panel is to tell it what that evidence means and how the drug should be categorised therefor. That's why cannabis was downgraded to category C.

The Daily Mail exists to tell government what makes a good headline and what the beliefs or prejudices of middle England are. It runs a campaign to have cannabis as class B. The government plays to that, knowing that, in reality, the courts will sentence as they have done whatever category it's in.

If the Act had made all illegal drugs the same, without categories, we wouldn't have this problem. Nutt is correct. Strictly, the government has acted wrongly since it has no evidence (it hasn't claimed any, you note) to justify the change and has gone against its own committee which has assessed the evidence Unfortunately that's politics..

[brionon]

Using Nutt's logic -You are more likely to get Cancer than to be Murdered so abolish the charge of Murder.

[fredpuli47]

Brionon, he's not saying' legalise cannabis'. Though we didn't have to wait long for somebody to draw a false analogy to say that he is'.