Buddhini Samarasinghe: Scientists Should Stick to Science

It is a statistical fact that you are more likely to die while horseback riding (1 serious adverse event every ~350 exposures) than from taking Ecstasy (1 serious adverse event every ~10,000 exposures). Yet, in 2009, the scientist who said this was fired from his position as the chairman of the UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Professor David Nutt's remit was to make scientific recommendations to government ministers on the classification of illegal drugs based on the harm they can cause. He was dismissed because his statement highlighted how the UK Government's policies on narcotics are at odds with scientific evidence. Today, the medical use of drugs such as cannabis remains technically illegal.

John Brockman, This Idea Must Die: Scientific Theories That Are Blocking Progress (2015-02-17)

• perspective
• probability
• statistics