A weed of an argument
Francis Sedgemore, Monday 2 November 2009
I’m afraid we’re not going to let this one lie. A new week begins, and the row deepens over David Nutt’s sacking as the UK government’s chief scientific advisor on recreational drugs, with home secretary Alan Johnson defending his actions in a letter to the Guardian. This short ministerial missive displays a peeved tone, in addition to the usual political hyperbole over cannabis use.
“As for his comments about horse riding being more dangerous than ecstasy, which you quote with such reverence, it is of course a political rather than a scientific point. There are not many kids in my constituency in danger of falling off a horse – there are thousands at risk of being sucked into a world of hopeless despair through drug addiction.
This is not even wrong. In comparing the popular party drug with equestrian leisure pursuits, Nutt was making a rhetorical point calculated to have maximum media impact, but with an eye to the potential political fallout. In the absence of full and proper public debate around relative drug harms – an absence due in large part to political sabotage by governments and compliant media – what else are Nutt and his colleagues supposed to do?
Politicians and political pundits do not have a monopoly on public comment and analysis.
Feed the writer! 
Monday 2 November 2009 at 18:40 UTC
Try to get themselves elected?
Monday 2 November 2009 at 18:42 UTC
(On a ‘legalise turkish woodbines/ban gymkhanas’ ticket. Actually, they might do quite well. Specially on the ban gymkhanas bit. BTW Is the weed as dangerous as Morris dancng?)
Monday 2 November 2009 at 18:44 UTC
Maybe Nutt et al. actually want to be scientists, doing science in sciency institutions, not sitting in parliament. And as scientists use their expertise to advise politicians who value their contribution and treat them with due respect.
Not too much to ask. Surely.
Monday 2 November 2009 at 18:47 UTC
No. Morris dancing presents a clear and present danger to the survival of one’s very soul. It is one of the worst moral transgressions imaginable.
Monday 2 November 2009 at 18:47 UTC
But it’s fun.
Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 11:00 UTC
Um. I wonder how many of the good Minister’s constituents are at risk from crime directly resulting from Government drug policies and the criminalization of drug use?
Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 11:54 UTC
I saw some folk doing it (men and women) in York on my way to a Rugby League match recently. It looked extremely violent and dangerous, and I was pleased to get to the safety and tranquility of the Huntingdon Stadium in one piece.
Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 16:17 UTC
Yep. Also, what does his constituency have to do with anything, since drug laws affect the whole country, not just Hull? And does he mean to imply that horse riding should be banned in Berkshire?
Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 16:26 UTC
…this element of irrational rivalry between subcultures, where one group of people have to be protected from indulging their dangerous hobby of smoking pot but another group of people are encouraged in their substantially more dangerous hobby of playing polo, is something Nutt is particularly interested in, it seems.
Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 16:29 UTC
Subculture, subhuman,… bleh.