This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8334774.stm

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Drug adviser sacked for comments Drugs adviser sacked for comments
(20 minutes later)
The UK's chief drugs adviser has been sacked by home secretary Alan Johnson after criticising government policies.The UK's chief drugs adviser has been sacked by home secretary Alan Johnson after criticising government policies.
Professor David Nutt had been critical of the decision to reclassify cannabis to Class B from Class C. Professor David Nutt, head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, criticised the decision to reclassify cannabis to Class B from C.
He accused ministers of devaluing and distorting evidence and said the drugs classification system was being used in a "political way". He accused ministers of devaluing and distorting evidence and said drugs classification was being politicised.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which he headed, is the UK's official drugs advisory body. The home secretary said he had "lost confidence" in his advice and asked him to step down.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is the UK's official drugs advisory body.
Earlier this week Prof Nutt used a lecture at King's College, London, to attack what he called the "artificial" separation of alcohol and tobacco from illegal drugs.
The professor said smoking cannabis created only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness, and claimed those who advocated moving ecstasy into Class B had "won the intellectual argument".
Ecstasy horse claim
Public concern over the links between high-strength cannabis, known as skunk, and mental illness led the government to reclassify cannabis to Class C last year.
In the past, Prof Nutt has also claimed that taking ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse.
In a letter, the home secretary wrote: "I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy and have therefore lost confidence in your ability to advise me as Chair of the ACMD.
"I would therefore ask you to step down from the Council with immediate effect."
In his reply, Prof Nutt said he was "disappointed" by the sentiments expressed by Mr Johnson.
He added: "Whilst I accept that there is a distinction between scientific advice and government policy there is clearly a degree of overlap.
"If scientists are not allowed to engage in the debate at this interface then you devalue their contribution to policy making and undermine a major source of carefully considered and evidence-based advice."