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UK: A mountain of anomalies
James Randerson The Guardian
Monday 24 Apr 2006 A mountain of anomalies Politicians need to face up to the fact that there is no rhyme or reason in the drug classification system. It's there because it's there." That was the frank answer from the head of the government's top drug advisory body on why magic mushrooms are in the most dangerous category - with heroin, crack and cocaine. Professor Sir Michael Rawlins was admitting to MPs last month that the UK's drug classification system is stacked with inconsistencies, ad hoc judgments and historical accidents. His testimony as chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) blew the gaff on government claims that its drug policy is "evidence-based". The reality is that the classification system for illegal drugs is riddled with anomalies and doesn't work. On Wednesday, there will be another difficult hearing before the parliamentary science and technology committee to probe the evidence base for the entire drug classification system. The answers matter: No home secretary has ever gone against the ACMD's recommendations. You don't need to be a pharmacologist to realise that heroin is a lot more dangerous than magic mushrooms. Between 1993 and 2000 there was one death in the UK from magic mushrooms, but 5,700 from heroin. The government's Talk to Frank drug education website says: "Magic mushrooms are not addictive in any way." Putting magic mushrooms into class A is indefensible by any "evidence-based" criteria, but it was refreshing that Prof Rawlins did not try to defend it. Moving it down would be unwise, though, he said, because it might encourage use of what is undoubtedly a dangerous substance. Another anomaly is the position of methamphetamine or crystal meth, a highly addictive and dangerous dance drug that has yet to take off in Britain. In November, the ACMD reviewed its status in class B and, despite deciding it was more dangerous than other class B drugs, opted not to move it up to class A. "Why?" asked the MPs. Moving it could have the perverse effect of making it a more desirable product for users and so stimulate demand, Prof David Nutt, a distinguished psychopharmacologist and chair of the ACMD's technical committee told the MPs. So moving mushrooms down might stimulate demand, but moving crystal meth up would have the same effect? A shift up the scale could well give a drug more kudos, as Prof Nutt suggests. But that undermines one of the key tenets of UK drug laws - that more dangerous drugs are placed in higher categories because of their greater risks. The higher penalties attached to those drugs tell would-be users that cocaine, for example, is more dangerous than cannabis. Next up is the distinction between cocaine and coca leaves, both placed in class A despite solid evidence that the unrefined plant is far less dangerous. Amphetamines are classed differently depending on what form they are in, so why not cocaine as well? "That's a very good question," said Prof Nutt. But he didn't have an answer. And, asked why ecstasy sat in class A, he replied that it too was "an anomaly". Drug treatment charities have argued for years that the classification system is inconsistent and is failing to protect the most vulnerable. Why, if it is really designed to reduce harm to the user and to society, do the two most dangerous drugs not form part of it? Alcohol contributes to around 1.2m assaults a year and smoking kills 130,000. That these are not classified is the biggest anomaly in an antiquated system that has utterly failed to prevent drug use from rocketing. The blame lies not with the ACMD, but with the framework within which it is forced to operate. Only if politicians acknowledge the system's faults will we have any hope of building a legal framework that will protect users and society effectively. ยท James Randerson is the Guardian's science correspondent
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