Drugs policy at the crossroads between science and politics
November 2nd, 2009The sacking of Prof. Nutt, the chair of the Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs, raises stereotyped responses on both sides which need to be disentangled. The scientists who are up-in-arms about the Government’s refusal to accept their conclusion (that alcohol and tobacco cause more harm than LSD, ecstasy and cannabis) must recognise that Ministers are entitled to reject their advice when politics involves a wider agenda and broader values than the automatic application of scientific data. Equally, Ministers should not seek scientific advice unless they are genuinely and seriously prepared to consider accepting the conclusions, even if they reserve the right not to do so for clear and specific reasons. Where a Minister has already made up his/her mind in advance, it only produces cynicism and resentment to go through a process of scientific inquiry which then leads nowhere. But there is a second issue too, which is the one Alan Johnson has emphasised, namely that a line has to be drawn between advising the Government and campaigning against the Government. This too involves a sensitive balance.
