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Is the Advisory Council on the Misuse of
Drugs breaking the Misuse of Drugs Act?:
The Government's 'Updated Drug Strategy 2002'
states "We will maintain our focus on Class A
drugs as they cause the most harm." This
statement is untrue. Class A drugs do not cause the
most harm. The Home Affairs Select Committee report
'Government Drugs Policy: Is it Working?' states that
"9. Legal drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol,
are responsible for far greater damage both to
individual health and to the social fabric in general
than illegal ones".
If legal drugs are more dangerous than illegal
ones, then why doesn't the ACMD recommend to
Government that these more dangerous drugs should
also be regulated under the Misuse of Drugs Act? It
would seem that the ACMD does have the power and
indeed the legal duty under the Misuse of Drugs Act
to consider all harmful social drugs.
The Misuse of Drugs Act begins:
"The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
1.-(2) It shall be the duty of the Advisory Council
to keep under review the situation in the United
Kingdom with respect to drugs which are being or
appear to them likely to be misused and of which the
misuse is having or appears to them capable of having
harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social
problem, and to give to any one or more of the
Ministers, where either the Council consider it
expedient to do so or they are consulted by the
Minister or Ministers in question, advice on measures
(whether or not involving alteration of the law)
which in the opinion of the Council ought to be taken
for preventing the misuse of such drugs or dealing
with social problems connected with their
misuse".
The ACMD's report 'The classification of cannabis
under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971' states that
"1.2 The Council is established under the Misuse
of Drugs Act 1971 to keep under review the drug
situation in the United Kingdom and to advise
government ministers on the measures to be taken for
preventing the misuse of drugs or for dealing with
the social problems connected with their misuse.
1.3 The classification of drugs, in Schedule 2 to the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, is based on the harm they
may cause.
1.4 When advising on the harmfulness of drugs, the
Council takes account of the physical harm that they
may cause, their pleasurable effects, associated
withdrawal reactions after chronic use, and the harm
that misuse may bring to families and society at
large."
The Government's reply to the Report of the
Independent [Police Foundation] Inquiry into the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 confirms the responsibility
of the ACMD to classify drugs according to their
dangerousness:
"11. The Government agrees with the Police
Foundation's conclusion that the main classification
criteria should continue to be that of
dangerousness…" "… assessments of
the sort that ACMD are required to make when
considering the harmfulness of drugs … should
clearly state methodology."
The ACMD do not "clearly state
methodology". Is there anything preventing the
ACMD from considering the dangerousness of tobacco or
alcohol? Under the guidelines above it seems that
tobacco should certainly be included within the
Misuse of Drugs Act.
The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health report
in 1998 stated that
"1.39 Smoking is the most important cause of
premature death in developed countries. It accounts
for one fifth of deaths in the UK: some 120,000
deaths a year".
The Government's '10 year strategy for tackling
drugs' introduction states that "….legally
obtainable substances such as alcohol, tobacco …
should …, as appropriate, be addressed within
the strategy."
The Home Office publication 'Let's Get Real -
communicating with the public about drugs', p.40,
states "we need to continue referring to
alcohol, tobacco and caffeine as drugs".
All drugs can be used harmfully, not just illegal
drugs. PALAD, Alcohol Concern and ASH all feel that
the prohibition of illegal drugs gives the false
impression, especially to young people, that legal
drugs are safer than illegal ones.
We agree with the opinion stated in the Home Affairs
Select Committee report 'Government Drugs Policy: Is
it Working?':
"57. It is also argued that it would be easier
to deter new users through truthful education
policies if the laws on drugs were consistent with
those on alcohol and tobacco, just as health
education in the recent past has had a positive
impact on prevalence of tobacco smoking."
Also, why is the National Alcohol Misuse Strategy
being developed by the Strategy Unit and Department
of Health and not the ACMD, whose legal
responsibility it seems to be? PALAD believes the
consultation is an opportunity to integrate drugs
misuse policy and so implement recent policies of
social exclusion, informed choice, free trade and
evidence-based assessment, in addition to integration
policies. We also believe that the failure to
regulate against legal drug misuse under the Misuse
of Drugs Act contributes to the deaths of thousands
of citizens every year in the UK.
