Drugs Policy without Science

I woke on Monday to the news that the views of scientists were going to be removed from decisions on drug policy.

This is a further undermining of the role of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), last year Prof. David Nutt, the then chair, was sacked by then Home Secretary Alan Johnson for criticising the Labour government's stance on cannabis. Following this a number of further council members resigned and their jobs were only recently up for grabs.

The Constant Gardener

The Constant Gardener is a film and book, by acclaimed author John le Carré. Le Carré is better known for his Cold War spy novels, including The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The Constant Gardener departs from this background, it is set in modern-day Kenya, dealing with issues of corruption, international aid and corporate evil. Without spoiling the ending, le Carré has written a wonderfully evocative critique of the western medical activities in Africa.