RPS members to advise government on the misuse of drugs

Three members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have been appointed to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an expert body that advises the government on drugs that have potential to be misused.

The appointment of Carole Hunter, Roger Knaggs and David Taylor was announced on 16 January 2018. Hunter, Knaggs and Taylor will hold their appointments, which were approved by the home secretary Sajid Javid, for three years.

Hunter is lead pharmacist at the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board. She has previously chaired the Scottish Specialist Pharmacists in Substance Misuse group and currently chairs the National Naloxone Advisory group.

Taylor is the director of pharmacy and pathology at the Maudsley Hospital and professor of psychopharmacology at Kings College London.

Knaggs is an associate professor in clinical pharmacy practice at the University of Nottingham and has prior experience as a hospital pharmacist.

Speaking of his appointment to the ACMD, Knaggs said that “with the current interest in the medical use of cannabis for various illnesses and misuse of prescription medicines, it is going to be a very interesting period to ensure legitimate clinical use while maintaining adequate controls to minimise misuse”.

The council advised the Home Office in July 2018 that medical cannabis should be rescheduled, concluding that “there is now evidence of medicinal benefit for some cannabis-derived products in certain medical conditions for some patients”.

• This article was corrected on 22 January 2019 to include the appointment of David Taylor, who is also a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society