INQUIRER: Officers responded to a 911 call reporting “a strong odor of weed” on the 3000 block of North 7th Street and found the front windows of the dwelling “completely masked and the strong scent of marijuana,” said Capt. Debra Frazier, of the narcotics unit. Inside, police discovered a .38 caliber handgun and 600 plants [NOT pictured, above], “from seedlings to plants well over 6-feet-tall,” Frazier said. “There was no furniture, no sources of entertainment, nothing but marijuana plants” growing hydroponically under large lights. Frazier estimated the seized pot had a street value of $5 million. MORE
PHAWKER: Seriously, $5 million would buy a lotta of school books.
RELATED: The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research. The nation’s largest physicians organization, with about 250,000 member doctors, the AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD. In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug. MORE
THE SUN: BRITAIN’S new drug Czar wants to DOWNGRADE mind-bending ecstasy and LSD, it was revealed last night. Professor David Nutt, who was appointed yesterday, says they should no longer be class A because it does not deter people from taking them. The professor is the new chairman of the Government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. In 2006 he told the council’s science and technology committee: “I think the evidence base for classification producing deterrence is not strong and we see that with a number of drugs. “I think LSD and ecstasy probably shouldn’t be class A.” A spokesman said: “The ACMD will consider the evidence for the classification of ecstasy with an open mind based upon its social misuse and harms relative to other drugs in the classification system.” Prof Nutt, formerly the advisory council’s chief scientist, recently called the Government’s decision to upgrade cannabis to class B from class C “naive”. He said reclassification would not put off users. MORE
RELATED: Professor David Nutt, the government’s chief drug adviser, has been sacked a day after claiming that ecstasy and LSD were less dangerous than alcohol. Nutt incurred the wrath of the government when he claimed in a paper that alcohol and tobacco were more harmful than many illegal drugs, including LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. A Home Office spokesperson said: “The home secretary has asked Professor Nutt to resign as chair of the ACMD [Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs]. MORE
RELATED: Three more scientists have resigned from the Government’s drugs advisory body in the wake of the sacking of Professor David Nutt, its chairman. The trio quit the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs following a crunch meeting with Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, who earlier this month told Prof Nutt to step down after criticising Government policy. They are understood to be Dr John Marsden, Dr Ian Ragan and Dr Simon Campbell and their departure follows the resignation of two other members as the row over the future role of the ACMD deepens. The meeting had been called because members of the advisory body wanted reassurances from the Home Secretary that they could continue in “good conscience” and that their advice would be respected. The row erupted after Prof Nutt said the dangers of alcohol and tobacco were more serious than those posed by Ecstasy and LSD and criticised the decision to reclassify cannabis as class B, against ACMD advice. MORE
RELATED: Dr Simon Campbell resigned from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on Tuesday after Professor David Nutt was forced to step down for criticising Government policy, especially relating to cannabis. He was one of three advisers to go this week taking the total of those who have resigned in support of Prof Nutt to five. MORE