Sliding Drug Scale

The British government’s chief drugs adviser has sparked controversy by claiming that ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol. The claims were made by chairman of the advisory council Professor David Nutt as he attacked the government’s decision to upgrade cannabis to a class B drug. “Prof Nutt said smoking cannabis created only a ‘relatively small risk’ of psychotic illness. And he claimed advocates of moving ecstasy into class B from class A had ‘won the intellectual argument’. All drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, should be ranked by a ‘harm’ index, he said, with alcohol coming fifth behind cocaine, heroin, barbiturates, and methadone. Tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy,” reports The Belfast Telegraph.