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Newsbrief:
British
Government
Drug
Expert
Calls
for
Ecstasy
Downgrade
1/30/04
While Britain is still recovering
from the shock of downgrading cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug,
one of the government's leading drug experts has called for a similarly
downgrading of MDMA (ecstasy), from a Class A to a Class B drug.
Class A drugs include cocaine and heroin, Class B drugs include amphetamines
and barbiturates, and Class C drugs include steroids, anti-depressants,
and now, cannabis.
Ecstasy has been a staple
of British club life for years, although its use appears to be tapering
off. At the peak of the drug's popularity a year or two ago, British
observers estimated that partiers were gobbling down 500,000 hits every
weekend.
"Ecstasy is not a Class A
drug. It shouldn't be," said Professor David Nutt, chairman of the
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' technical committee. It
was this committee that earlier recommended the downgrading of cannabis.
Nutt told the Independent on Sunday that the committee is carrying out
a full review of the classification system.
But Home Secretary David
Blunkett has said he has no plans to reclassify ecstasy, and when three
leading psychologists last year dared to suggest there was no conclusive
damage that the drug damages the brain, they provoked an hysterical reaction
similar to that seen in recent weeks as cannabis downgrading loomed (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/321/fits.shtml).
Professor Nutt also had something
to say about that. "Four years ago everyone was saying we were not
going far enough. Then everyone was very positive and a month before
the legislation everyone discovers cannabis is a deadly toxin," he complained.
"Almost nothing has changed. This thing about it might cause schizophrenia
-- that is still a possibility but that is not a reason for not reclassifying,
it's a reason for making sure people are aware of the dangers."
-- END --
|
Issue #322, 1/30/04
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Newsbrief: Campaign Watch -- Kerry National Security Advisor Was Key Drug Warrior |
Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief: Scotland's First Cannabis Café Opens |
Newsbrief: British Government Drug Expert Calls for Ecstasy Downgrade |
Newsbrief: More Federal Judges Object to New Sentencing Discretion Limits |
Newsbrief: Leading Georgia Prosecutor Slams Drug War, But Only as He Retires |
This Week in History |
DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web-Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
The Reformer's Calendar
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