The former head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has attacked the British government for not doing enough to address the problem of alcohol in the country.

Professor David Nutt calls alcohol the ‘gateway drug’ and believes that it is the biggest threat to society, much bigger than drugs such as Ecstasy. However, not only have his beliefs come up against fierce criticism, they have also lost him his job.

In recent scientific work carried out as head of the Advisory Council, he asked a group of 29 consultant psychiatrists specialised in addiction to rate 20 drugs. The final ranking placed heroin and cocaine as the most dangerous of the 20 drugs. Alcohol was fifth, tobacco was in ninth place, just behind amphetamine or "speed". Cannabis was 11th, while ecstasy was 18th.

Nutt also compared the harm caused by alcohol and Ecstasy, and the findings led to his dismissal. However, the pharmacologist is adamant that his findings are correct. ‘When I say alcohol is more dangerous than Ecstasy, cannabis and LSD, I mean it, and the council means it,’ Professor Nutt said. ‘"The point we are making is that all drugs are dangerous, even the ones that people know and love and use regularly like alcohol... The Government has to wake up to this time bomb and the health risks of alcohol. "

Across the political spectrum everyone knows that alcohol is the biggest killer’. However, his dismissal was due to even more controversial points he made during a lecture, and the fact that these views were then published in a paper by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London. He argued that alcohol and cigarettes were more harmful than Ecstasy and LSD. He even went so far as to argue that taking Ecstasy was no more risky than horse-riding. But Professor Nutt does not regret what he said. ‘You’ve got to tell the truth,’ he said. ‘If alcohol was discovered tomorrow it would definitely be illegal. It’s a dangerous drug — there’s no doubt about that’.

It will come as no surprise that professor Nutt’s arguments have been met with much criticism and sparked many debates. A common argument to come up is that most adults in Britain drink alcohol in moderation, they are well-informed about the dangers of excessive consumption and few suffer adverse consequences because of it. Alcohol is generally washed out of the system in 24 hours; this is not the case for drugs which can still be detected weeks later.

Professor Nutt’s downplaying of the risks associated with cannabis, often thought of as being a ‘soft’ drug, has also come up against backlash. Many people point to the link between cannabis use and schizophrenia. Studies carried out over the past six years have found that initially healthy people who use cannabis on a daily basis have a greater chance of developing paranoia and psychosis than those who abstain from the drug. Those who start using cannabis in early adolescence have an even greater risk of this occurring. Experts also point out the emotional and psychological problems that could have a very negative effect on a person’s life. Cannabis users are more likely to divorce, suffer from anxiety and depression and to be less successful in their careers.

There is also a concern that street cannabis is becoming more potent. Two large surveys carried out by the Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs in 2007 found that the concentration of THC, its main active ingredient, has increased from 4 per cent in the 1970s to 14-18 per cent today.

The debate over alcohol and drugs continues...

By Bex

L'alcool, la plus dangereuse des drogues ? Les déclarations d'un haut fonctionnaire ont déclenché un véritable tollé de l'autre côté de la Manche. (A écouter en V.O. (cliquez sur le fichier MP3) à la fin de l'article. A noter également qu’en passant votre souris sur les mots en italique, ces derniers apparaissent traduits en surimpression.

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