DRUG 'EXPERTS' LIVING IN A FANTASY WORLD

PARTISAN campaigners occasionally make outrageous claims to bolster
their case.

However, when it comes to the issue of drugs, it seems that no
statement is too nonsensical.

The recent controversies about magic mushrooms and cannabis highlight
the fantasy world inhabited by so-called drugs experts.

Fine Gael's Health Spokesperson, Dr Liam Twomey, has repeatedly stated
that magic mushrooms were rightly considered Class A drugs, along with
heroin and cocaine, because they were addictive and could lead to
fatal overdose.

The expert data flatly contradicts this. The most comprehensive report
on mushrooms and their impact was carried out in 2003 by the
Coordination Centre for the Assessment and Monitoring of New Drugs
(CAM), a Dutch government agency.

It which found that "the drug is not associated with physical or
psychological dependency the use of paddos (hallucinogenic mushrooms)
does not, on balance, present any risk to the health of the
individual."

Grainne Kenny, president of the campaign group Europe Against Drugs
(EURAD), recently claimed that cannabis is more addictive than valium
or tobacco. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever to support this
claim.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a US government agency which
funds the majority of global drug research, ranks cannabis along with
coffee as having a low addiction potential, while alcohol, tobacco and
heroin are found to be highly addictive.

It is also widely recognised that tobacco is the most addictive drug.
It's clear that our 'war on drugs' is failing miserably.

However, so long as the public discourse is dominated by 'experts'
like Dr Twomey and Ms Kenny, there is little hope of arriving at a
policy that might actually work.

BRENDAN HOGAN

Rosehill Cottages

Cord Road

Drogheda

Co Louth