Ecstasy 'should be class B drug'

People for and against a reclassification of the drug explain their views

The body that advises the government on illegal drugs has recommended ecstasy be downgraded to a Class B drug.

Ecstasy is currently grouped with heroin, cocaine, crack and LSD in Class A. Suppliers of such drugs can face a life sentence in prison.

But the Home Office has made it clear it will reject the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' recommendation.

The council's head, Prof David Nutt, accused ministers of being swayed by "politics" and not scientific evidence.

He said: "Our job is not to give messages to the public. Our job is to tell the home secretary and drugs minister about the relative harms of drugs.

"I think they have accepted our evidence but I think they have made a political decision."

A row broke out earlier this month after Prof Nutt likened the dangers of ecstasy use and horse-riding.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith responded by accusing him of trivialising the dangers of the drug. He later apologised for any offence and said the views were not those of his colleagues on the council.

Latest evidence

The advisory council reviewed the latest evidence on ecstasy last year and held a secret ballot of its 31 members on the issue of re-classification.

It is understood the result was not unanimous, but a majority voted to recommend moving the drug to Class B.

DRUGS-RELATED DEATHS 2007 Deaths mentioned on death certificates where cause is listed as drug poisoning Cocaine and crack cocaine are indistinguishable in the body after death so no separate figures The total number of deaths, which includes anti-depressants and painkillers, is 3,095

The advisers' view is that ecstasy is not as harmful as other Class A drugs and causes far fewer deaths.

It says ecstasy use has no significant impact on short-term memory loss and finds little evidence to link ecstasy to criminal behaviour.

But it will call for further research into the effects of taking ecstasy, particularly on younger users.

The council is made up of medical and pharmaceutical experts, as well as people with experience of social problems caused by drugs, including police and lawyers. Its role is to keep classification under review and advise ministers on any measures it thinks should be taken about drugs misuse.

Martin Barnes, chief executive of the think tank DrugScope, who sits on the advisory council, said it was crucial that a rigorously independent body was entrusted with this type of research precisely because drug classification was politically charged.

He did not dismiss the dangers of ecstasy, but said the job of the council was to dispassionately look at the relative harm of ecstasy compared with other drugs, such as cocaine, crack or heroin.

But the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales has expressed opposition to suggestions that ecstasy should be downgraded to a Class B drug.

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Ian Johnston, president of the association, told the BBC: "This is not some academic or scientific exercise, this is dealing with people's lives."

Mr Barnes said that when no other drug was involved, ecstasy accounted for between 10 and 17 deaths a year.

Last month, the Home Office restored cannabis from Class C to Class B, against the wishes of the advisory council.

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said this latest recommendation raised real doubts about how long the council could continue in its present form if its experts continued to be ignored.

'E every weekend'

Dr Evan Harris, science spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, argued that Prof Nutt was engaging in "rational debate" when he compared the dangers of taking ecstasy and those of horse-riding.

Speaking to GMTV, Dr Harris said: "The problem with putting ecstasy in Class A... is that if thousands of young people take 'e' every weekend, and they see that it is in the same class as heroin and cocaine and crack cocaine, then it is hard to argue that those are particularly more dangerous than ecstasy."

ECSTASY: THE FACTS Most common club drug Comes as pills and as a powder Active ingredient is a drug called MDMA Home Office surveys show 4.8% of UK 10-25 year olds have tried it at least once and 9% of 18-25 year olds have. (Offending, Crime & Justice Survey 2004) Linked to 58 deaths in 2007 Ecstasy is an illegal class A drug Maximum penalty for possession is 14 years in prison. For supply, life in prison. You can get an unlimited fine for both Source: Kate Roach, BBC Surgery

The row erupted following the publication of an article by Prof Nutt in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

In it, he wrote: "Drug harm can be equal to harms in other parts of life. There is not much difference between horse-riding and ecstasy."

He said horse-riding accounted for more than 100 deaths a year, and went on: "This attitude raises the critical question of why society tolerates - indeed encourages - certain forms of potentially harmful behaviour but not others such as drug use."

Jacqui Smith said she was "surprised" and "disappointed" by his comments and told him he had gone beyond his role as head of the advisory council.

The professor later said in a statement: "I am sorry to those who may have been offended by my article.

"I would like to assure those who have read my article that I had no intention of trivialising the dangers of ecstasy."

Fatalities from ecstasy are caused by massive organ failure from overheating or the effects of drinking too much water.