New drugs adviser caught in cannabis row

The new head of the government’s drug advisory panel once called for the legalisation of cannabis, it has been revealed.

Professor Les Iverson, the replacement for the sacked Professor David Nutt, has claimed in the past that cannabis is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco and even called for the drug to be made legal.

He reportedly said: “Cannabis should be legalised not just decriminalised because it is comparatively less dangerous than legal drugs alcohol and tobacco.”

The professor discussed disagreements with the home secretary Alan Johnson, suggesting that the drugs debate had moved on and that he has since changed his mind from the comments he made at a charity event in 2003.

Last October, Mr Johnson sacked Professor Nutt after he questioned the government’s policy on drug use and suggested that ecstasy and cannabis were less dangerous than alcohol.