Drug research UK

From the Adam Smith blog an entry about new drug research. Last year I got Greg Newbold to come and speak at an electorate dinner. As I remember he drew a conclusion which would be backed up by this research, that we should treat various drugs differently (or more so than we currently do).

Drugs are banned because they are dangerous, we are told. And when the media report cases of teenagers dying from the misuse of ecstasy or solvents, that message seems to be confirmed. But in fact, according to a study by Professor Colin Blakemore (head of the UK's Medical Research Council) and others, these drugs are in fact a good deal less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, which are responsible for far more cases of illness and death each year — and in the case of alcohol, accident and violence too.