OXFORD DON SPEAKS OUT ON DRUG CLASSIFICATION

A prominent Oxford Professor of Physiology has criticized the
government's classification of illegal drugs. The Head of the Medical
Research Council, Dr Colin Blakemore, told the House of Commons
Science and Technology Committee that he saw the inclusion of LSD,
magic mushrooms and ecstasy in the Class A category as illogical.

Blakemore, who was called in to advise the committee's ongoing
investigation into drug classification, said, "Not all the evidence
was taken into account in the original classifications and subsequent
evidence has not been well incorporated." A spokesperson from the
independent drug advisory group Drugscope said, "I don't think anyone
would argue that there are not serious anomalies in the classification
system.

However, the ongoing debate over cannabis shows that any government
which tries to change the law to reclassify ecstasy to a lower class
will have to face a great media outcry because of the message that
this would appear to send out to the public." Blakemore told The
Oxford Student, "I do not think that the scientific evidence justified
the classification of hallucinogens and ecstasy as class A drugs (and
Professor John Strang agreed).

However, this certainly doesn't imply that I would encourage any
student, or anyone else, to experiment with these drugs. There is no
such thing as a drug without risk." Matt Sellwood, Green Party
candidate for the Holywell Ward at this week's local elections, told
the supported Blakemore's comments. He said, "The Green Party agrees
that the current classification of drugs is arbitrary and needs to be
reexamined.

The fact that hallucinogens which are used in medical research are
classified as equal to heroin is ridiculous." Unprocessed psychedelic
mushrooms were recently reclassified as Class A substances. Evidence
that LSD is responsible for genetic mutations and foetal abnormalities
have been overturned by detailed research into its chromosomal
effects. The effects of ecstasy use remain a highly-debated topic.

A recent study of extreme abuse, profiling a subject who consumed
40,000 pills in nine years, found evidence of severe physical and
mental health side-effects, including extreme memory problems,
paranoia, hallucinations and depression. Dr Trevor Sharp, Reader in
Pharmacology, said, "Professor Blakemore is the head of the Medical
Research Council so he's not going to stick his head above the parapet
without good advice."