Sir, I write as someone who was a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs from 1974 to 1995 to place in their historical context some of the issues raised by the Home Secretary’s dismissal of the ACMD’s chairman, Professor David Nutt (letters, Nov 3).

The ACMD has been accepted, since its establishment in 1971 under the Misuse of Drugs Act, as the authoritative source of independent advice to Government and Parliament on policy in relation to illegal drugs. That advice has covered much more than the classification system and has included such issues as treatment, policing and prisons. Until now, the ACMD’s advice has been accepted by governments of both parties despite the challenge to existing policies and practices that it sometimes posed. I think in particular of the Aids and Drug Misuse Reports, which I had the privilege of chairing and which attracted considerable public and press hostility. Nevertheless, Margaret Thatcher’s Government, after some hesitation, took the bold step of accepting the ACMD’s recommendations and implementing a wide range of harm reduction initiatives including needle exchanges. As a result, we now have one of the lowest rates in Europe of HIV among drug users. At no time, so far as I am aware, did ministers suggest that members of the council were not free to express their professional opinions on the often contentious issues on which advice was being proffered or sought.

The independent UK Drug Policy Commission is currently planning to examine in detail the process by which drug policy is framed and regulated in this country and elsewhere. It will, we hope, make a significant contribution to promoting a governance process for non-partisan, evidence-based drug policy that brings together in a systematic and transparent way, expert advice and public opinion.

Dame Ruth Runciman
Chair, UK Drug Policy Commission

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