“An advisor is an expert who gives advice”

We live in an era of honesty, and evidence-based medicine, yet it now seems that if you tell the truth, and provide evidence, you’ll get sacked from your role as a government Tsar.

Poor Professor David Nutt, head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, was dumped by e-mail for pointing out some hard truths about not so hard drugs. He spoke against reclassifying cannabis as a B class drug, and pointing out that you are nearly ninety times more likely to die from alcohol, than ecstasy, and that tobacco is the biggest cause of premature death.

Of course I am not calling for alcohol or tobacco to be banned, and neither would the government, imagine the tax revenue they would lose. But I am asking for a sense of proportion about recreational drug use.

Quote of the week from Alan Johnson: “You cannot have a chief advisor…campaigning against government decisions.” The last time I looked in the dictionary (seven seconds ago, gotta love the iPhone) an advisor is ‘an expert who gives advice’. Advice doesn’t have to be taken, picture a child approaching the fire, you could advise him not to put his hand in it, and how would you feel if he rejected your advice?

It seems both stupid, and expensive, to set up committees, and appoint Drug Tsars (not to be confused with Colombian oligarchs), just to take no bloody notice whatsoever of their recommendations. As Nutt said today, Gordon Brown is making statements which are totally outside his expertise.

Mind you, if Gordon Brown confined his statements to areas within his expertise, he’d have bog all to say. And, while we’re on areas of expertise, anyone noticed that the rest of the world is out of a recession and we’re still stuffed.

In yet another example of a clash of ministerial policies, the home secretary is, in fact, giving tacit approval to alcohol, whereas the health watchdogs have found a spectacularly easy target.

The latest alcohol clampdown is on the high end supermarket recession busting tactic of offering a main course, side dish, and pudding, all for £10 for two people. “What a great idea, we’ll have a lovely cheap meal in, instead of nipping to the pub for supper.” I hear you say. Well, apparently it’s not a great idea, it’s fuelling middle aged, middle class alcohol abuse, and the gurus want the promotions axed.

When us middle classes aren’t craving the latest Apple products, or outdoing each other at obscure cheese, we’re getting utterly drunk, and creating havoc by falling asleep in front of our boxed sets of Lost. We’re pictured in the papers having shouting matches with our dogs, falling into bed with our clothes on, and flashing our socks. No, they must be getting me, and my friends, seriously being confused with feral youth.

I am sick of being a soft target for ridiculous policies.  

Can someone please tell me that it’s not true that Trick or Treating is going to be banned, in order to reduce childhood obesity, and obviate the risk of being sued for handing over sweets? Come to think of it stopping the extraction of sweets with menaces is probably a good thing, and I would welcome being able to stay home at Hallowe’en (tucking into a cheap starter, main course, pudding and half a bottle of wine).

Tags: Alcohol, Drugs classification