British Scientists Warn Gov't: We're Turning into the U.S.

British scientists warn increasing hostility toward scientific evidence that contradicts political agendas could hinder the collaborative relationship policy and science enjoys in Britain, the Guardian reported yesterday.

Last November, the British government ignored the advice of its Scientific Advisory Board and moved marijuana into a more dangerous class of drugs, a move described by top scientists at the time as "a sad departure from the welcome trend … of public policy following expert scientific advice."

Of course, here in the United States, government has been ignoring its scientific advisors on marijuana policy for decades, at least since Nixon first lined his bird cage with the two-year study he commissioned recommending marijuana's decriminalization.

And that unwelcome trend continues to this very day here, as evidenced by drug czar Gil Kerlikowske's recent lie that marijuana "has no medicinal benefit." Not sure who Kerlikowske's scientific advisors are, but the one we taxpayers use, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, says: "Nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety … all can be mitigated by marijuana."

Then again, it doesn't take a scientist to know that it's wrong to deny sick people medicine that eases their pain, or to arrest responsible adults because they prefer a drug that's safer than alcohol or tobacco.