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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Drug adviser quits over David Nutt cannabis row Sam Jones The Guardian Sunday 01 Nov 2009 A member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has resigned in protest at the government's treatment of its head, who was forced to step down last week after saying that cannabis was less harmful than alcohol or nicotine. Professor David Nutt's comments last week led the home secretary, Alan Johnson, to call on him to resign. Today, Dr Les King told the BBC that he had decided to step down because he felt Johnson had denied Nutt's "freedom of expression". Nutt also incurred the wrath of ministers when he claimed that cannabis had been upgraded to class B against scientific evidence and for political reasons. Johnson said today that he respected Nutt's views but the adviser had "crossed the line". Speaking to Sky News, the home secretary said: "You cannot have a chief adviser at the same time stepping into the public field and campaigning against government decisions. You can do one or the other, you can't do both." Johnson said it was not the job of scientific advisers to "just keep coming back and back and back" to overturn ministerial decisions. He said the decision to force out Nutt had been his alone and he had not consulted Gordon Brown. He went on: "I've got enormous respect for the advisory council, I want to meet them very soon, I've got enormous respect for the scientific community. They've got to understand that Professor Nutt crossed this line between offering advice ... and then campaigning against the government on political decisions." Johnson, who was apparently unaware of King's decision, said he hoped that further members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs would not resign http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/01/drug-adviser-les-king-quits
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