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Rod McPhee: Masters of the drug witch-hunt
ABOUT 300 years ago an unfortunate man by the name of Giles Corey was one of a few who, during the frenzied Salem witch trials, refused to admit what everyone wanted him to admit.
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The bloodthirsty locals were whipped into a frenzy by the notion that such dark behaviour was going on in their midst. They didn't want to understand it, they weren't entirely sure what it involved. All they knew was they just wanted to see lots of bad folk, supposedly like Corey, swinging from ropes.
And one day, maybe 300 years in the future, people of a more enlightened age will look back on the treatment of Professor David Nutt in much the same way – irrational, unfair and utterly warped.
Last week the government's chief (now ex) drug adviser dared to question the accepted wisdom on narcotics by claiming alcohol and cigarettes were a bigger threat to society than most things we illegally smoke, snort, or swallow.
"What nonsense! How ridiculous!" we all bark. Of course, we know best because we've read about drugs in the papers, whereas he's only a leader in his scientific field who's spent most of his life carrying out research on the subject.
His biggest mistake was to openly criticise the Home Office's policy on classifying drugs. This gave them a credible reason to fire him. But I fear this wasn't their real chagrin, I reckon they did a Giles Corey on him.
Corey, by the way, was eventually tortured to death. He had large boulders placed on top of him in a futile attempt to get him to say what he knew to be a lie. These days, it seems, people who refuse to stop telling the truth are still crushed.
Sure, it's a trite analogy, I know, but our whole approach to the issue of drugs still has the whiff of those historic witch-hunts. The difference now, of course, is that the non-mythical problem of drugs won't be solved by flattening dissenters.
The biggest hurdle we face is marrying up science with politics. The former often tells us that we have a disproportionate view of what substances – legal and illegal – we consider to be dangerous. The latter daren't even contemplate it for fear of a middle-England backlash.
But I actually think that party leaders, of all persuasions, have misjudged the wider public's perception. Potentially there's a whole band of Britons who would support any political party bold enough to open up a frank and honest debate based on the findings of Nutt and his peers.
Naive? Possibly. Maybe it's too much to hope for. But as a first step let's at least listen to the facts presented to us by the experts we pay to present them. Unfortunately the professor's treatment may well have dissuaded other scientists from doing just that.
If we don't stop lynching the experts we'll always remain as fearful and confused as like those delusioned souls in Salem.
Noughtie boy
RADIO One DJ Chris Moyles was recently more than a bit snotty about people who refer to the current decade as the Noughties. Why? What else are we supposed to call it?
Sure, it isn't ideal but it isn't, as the breakfast show host suggested, a phrase exclusively used by 'media types'. If he's such an authority maybe he can suggest an alternative?
While he's at it perhaps he can propose a tag for the next ten years. There's yet to be any kind of consensus reached but we're now just seven weeks away from a new decade. Hard to believe, isn't it?
And I was only just getting used to the Noughties... oops, I've said it again Chris.
Lorraine's light entertainment
A COLLEAGUE of mine approached my desk this week to tip me off that Lorraine Kelly had been confirmed as host of this year's Leeds Christmas lights switch on.
He thought I'd take the Mickey. I did a bit.
But then I realised that Kelly is not only a good signing, but the ultimate signing, because the big launch party has always been a slightly tongue-in-cheek, kitsch affair.
In the 1980s, for example, Danny La Rue was due to take to the stage to hit the big button but pulled out at the last minute when council chiefs refused to let him appear dragged up as Margaret Thatcher.
In the 1990s Noel Edmonds turned up and came with the added bonus of Mr Blobby in tow. Unfortunately, on arrival, they discovered the lights had already been turned on by mistake.
Now, in the Noughties (sorry Chris), there's been a worrying number of genuine stars creeping in on the act, which just isn't very Leeds is it? Serious stars – they're a bit 'obvious' aren't they?
No, Lorraine Kelly is the perfect choice – who better to to turn on the festive lights than someone who's camper than Christmas?
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
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