In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Unfortunately I couldn't finish reading the article because I started to throw up and sh!t myself simultaneously.
But from what I did read, this guy simply hasn't understood anything about the way policy works, the way science works, or how the two relate to each other. The case of drugs, that silly bitch the former Home Sec, and David Nutt/the ACMD, illustrates it all perfectly:
- Politicians came up with a policy (for it is their job) which was scrutinised by Parliament and became law (for that is how policy works). That policy was that under the Misuse of Drugs Act, drugs would be classed according the harm they caused, and the ACMD would advise the govt on that harm.
- The ACMD assessed the harm of drugs (for it is their job) and the govt didn't like what they were told (because they are driven primarily by the goal of being re-elected). So the silly bitch decided to ignore the advice of the ACMD, thus acting contrarily to the policy on drugs (that's the policy that she had responsibility for, for that was her job), which is to classify them according to harm. Thus, she did not understand her own policy because she was too stupid and self-serving.
If the govt wanted to come up with some bizarre spiritual/moral/religious/superstitious/random/contra-rational criterion to classify drugs, they're free to do so if they can get it through Parliament and into the statute book (for that is how policy works). But that's not what we've got, and it wouldn't get through Parliament because we have a pretty decent system in place which effectively filters out the majority of the crackpot bullsh!t which politicians come out with/believe before it has gathered enough momentum to become policy. We have an policy of basing drug classification on evidence because it's common sense and it's what our elected representatives have agreed is the best way to manage the issue. Ms Smith failed to implement the policy, and now a sensible idea has been completely undermined. Well done Jacqui, you're a stupid bitch.
So when I see idiots criticising the legitimacy of the ACMD or indeed any body set up to advise the govt on scientific matters, my heart sinks. The policy that has been debated and agreed (for that is how our democracy works) is simply being implemented. There is no debate about whether or not the advice is legitimate (and should be followed rather than ignored) because that debate has already taken place - the advisory body has been set up to do a job which has been deemed necessary.
The
policy is not being
driven by science. The policy debate has taken place and it has been agreed that
decisions will driven by science.