The return of Nutt: ‘Alcohol more harmful than crack’
By Ian Dunt
The UK drug advisor who was sacked by Alan Johnson has waded into the debate on drugs again by insisting crack is less damaging than alcohol.
Professor David Nutt formed the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs after the home secretary sacked him for saying ecstasy was less dangerous than riding a horse.
Members of the new group, which is partially composed of former government advisors who resigned in protest at Mr Nutt’s treatment, have ranked drugs on a scale of harm to users and wider society.
Harms included physical and mental damage, cost to the economy, cost to communities, crime and liability of addiction.
In terms of harm to individuals, heroin, crack and methylamphetamine (crystal meth) were most harmful, but alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were most harmful to society.
Adding the scores together meant alcohol emerged as the most dangerous drug, closely followed by heroin and crack.
That is in no small part due to the prevalence of alcohol, meaning its social affects are more pronounced.
“Our findings lend support to previous work in the UK and the Netherlands, confirming that the present drug classification systems have little relation to the evidence of harm,” the research paper said.
“They also accord with the conclusions of previous expert reports that aggressively targeting alcohol harms is a valid and necessary public health strategy.”
Drug legalisation campaigners insist the current classification system is so unwieldy precisely because a harm-based assessment would lead to embarrassing questions about alcohol’s legal status.
The former home secretary was quick to sack Prof Nutt after his regular liberal criticisms of government policy became impossible to ignore.
The current government contains several figures who are critical of the UK’s current drug policy, including the prime minister and deputy prime minister, but reform remains unlikely.
