New drugs adviser caught in cannabis row
New drugs adviser Professor Les Iverson caught in cannabis debate
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The new head of the government's drug advisory panel once called for the legalisation of cannabis, it has been revealed.
Professor Les Iverson, the replacement for the sacked Professor David Nutt, has claimed in the past that cannabis is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco and even called for the drug to be made legal.
He reportedly said: "Cannabis should be legalised not just decriminalised because it is comparatively less dangerous than legal drugs alcohol and tobacco."
The professor yesterday talked lightly about any disagreements with the home secretary Alan Johnson and suggested that the drugs debate had moved on and that he has since changed his mind from the comments he made at a charity bash in 2003.
He said: "I don't remember saying that, it's certainly not my position now. That was a view I had in 2003 and a great deal has happened since then.
"We have now to confront the more potent forms of cannabis. We have the new evidence that arose since 2003 linking cannabis to psychiatric illness.
"I think it's quite free for a scientist to change his mind when faced with new facts."
Last October Mr Johnson sacked Professor Nutt after he questioned the government's policy on drug use and suggested that ecstasy and cannabis were less dangerous than alcohol.