Are Drugs laws costing more lives than they save?
Professor Davis Nutt talks to Liverpool University:
With deaths from legal highs, the banning of khat, and Channel 4’s recent Drugs Live programmes attracting millions of viewers, the government’s drugs policies have recently become part of public discourse. In an event arranged the new university branch of MedAct (a national student society interested in health and social change) Professor David Nutt, was welcomed to the University’s School of Medicine to deliver a talk advocating the need for a more rational, and scientific based approach to drug policies.
Professor Nutt, a psychiatrist and neuropharmacologist was sacked from his position as government advisor in 2009, after numerous disagreements with the then labour government. Professor Nutt went against the government consensus on drugs policies primarily ecstasy and cannabis, leading to both his dismissal and the resignation of many other senior advisors. The event was so popular with both university students and members of the public, that the talk was relocated to a larger lecture theatre after the audience quickly overfilled the first choice theatre.
Professor Nutt opened his talk reporting the shocking death toll related to alcohol consumption in Britain, several million people dying every year and numbers have been rising rapidly since the 1990s. Alcohol consumption is also likely to become the leading cause of premature death in British women by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, over £7 billion is spent every year policing alcohol related incidents including disorderly conduct and domestic violence. What’s more shocking is that over 70% of politicians currently gain profit from the drink industry. At the same time, government statistics demonstrate a massive rise in the numbers using recreational drugs such as cannabis in the UK, yet deaths related to use of these drugs, remain at a constant low level.
From these statistics it’s clear that there may be more to the story on the laws which govern use and sales of drugs. Nutt accuses politicians of pandering to older and more traditional voters by demonising recreational drugs with little scientific evidence to back their detrimental effects. Professor Nutt highlighted the audacity of the recent ‘Psychoactive Substances’ bill, comparing it to the banning of the telescope by the Catholic church in the 17th century! With current strict legislation it is almost impossible for scientists to research potential new medications, if they have any psychoactive properties. This serves as a massive barrier to research, as illegal psychoactive substances such has LSD and cannabis may have great potential in the clinical treatment and management options for many conditions including multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. However, the tight controls slow and inhibit any further developments, Professor Nutt managed to conduct research trials into the use of psychobilin a chemical found in the hallucinogenic liberty cap or magic mushrooms – his results are not yet published but he cites the chemical to be uniquely effective in treating depression.
As well as depriving those in need of potentially life changing medications. Nutt also proffered that the laws enforced against the public regarding illegal substances can be as oppressive. Now up to 1 million young people in the UK possess a criminal record for cannabis possession particularly common in people from less affluent backgrounds deprived areas and a particular issue in Liverpool.
However, drugs regulations are far from a UK only issue, despite recent legalisations of cannabis in the USA, the general worldwide picture is imposing stricter regulations on drugs. Recently, the Chinese government proposed to unilaterally ban ketamine worldwide, despite its use as the only accessible painkiller for millions in less developed nations. And certainly is not the only policy area in need of a more science based approach– both energy and environmental sectors suffer from a severe lack of fact based policy and a general lack of scientific understanding by politicians.
The popularity of the event definitely shows that both the university and the people of Liverpool have an appetite for the debate.
