Professor Colin Davidson is one of ten leading experts who has been appointed to join a UK Government Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
The pharmacology expert, who is based at the University of Central Lancashire, will be part of the council which will assess substances that are being misused or could potentially cause significant health and social harms, as well as conducting in-depth inquiries into aspects of drug use that are causing particular concern throughout the UK. Colin said: “There are all sorts of problems with drug abuse in the UK, while Scotland has the highest rate of drug related deaths in Europe.
“This new role involves UK Government Ministers commissioning a report on a particular drug. We will then look at the drug in question and write a report. That would go to the Home Office and might lead to a change in the law or Government policy.
“The big focus is harm reduction. How can we keep people healthier and safe?
“I was invited to join the Council because I have spent the last 30 years looking at how drugs affect the brain.”
After leaving Annan, Colin studied biology and psychology at the University of Edinburgh. He went on to complete a PhD in London looking at how anti-depressants work. He also spent nine years in the USA developing novel treatments for stimulant dependency.
He said: “I vaguely remember at Annan Academy doing higher biology and our biology textbook had a chapter on how drugs affect the brain which I thought was very interesting. I guess it also helped that my Dad was a pharmacist and knew a bit about drugs.”
The ACMD is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office.
