Prime Minister May's Religion Made Her An 'Extremist' On Drugs Policy, Professor Says
British Prime Minister Theresa May's religious beliefs have made her an 'extremist' on drugs policy, according to a former government advisor and Professor.
Professor David Nutt said that May 'actively excluded evidence and common sense', and attributed her policy to her religion, as the Huffington Post reports.
Nutt previously served as a government advisor in David Cameron's government but was sacked in 2009 when he said that ecstasy was no more dangerous than horse riding. He said that Mrs May, in her previous years in government, had stifled the debate on drugs. May was the British Home Secretary from 2010-2016.
'She comes from quite a religious background and she has a religious, what you might call an extremist, position about drugs, except alcohol,' he said. 'So she has made the situation worse because she has actively excluded evidence and common sense from the Home Office.
'Now she's Prime Minister I kind of feel things could even get worse, it's hard to see how they could get worse because we've now banned everything, apart from alcohol,' Nutt said. 'But I think the attitude that it is someone's fault for taking drugs and that they have to be punished if they're caught is exactly the wrong attitude.'
May has previously spoken about her Christian faith and its positive influence on her life and choices. 'I suppose there is something in terms of faith, I am a practising member of the Church of England and so forth, that lies behind what I do,' she told the Sunday Times in November.
Nutt favours the legalisation of drugs which are technically less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Nutt argued for the benefits of cannabis, which can be used as a medicine to treat chronic pain and neurological issues. In the US, cannabis is available by prescription in 28 states.
'I think that is where the British public will see that if it is good enough for 200m Americans it's good enough for 60 million Brits,' Nutt said. 'It is absurd to be denying it to the British people.'
A Home Office spokesperson said that there were no plans to decriminalise drugs. 'Our approach on drugs remains clear - we must prevent drug use in our communities, support people through treatment and recovery, and tackle the supply of illegal drugs' they said.
'The decriminalisation of drugs in the UK would not address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families and communities.
'We are currently developing a new Drug Strategy, working across Government and with key partners, to identify what further steps we can take to tackle this issue.'
