A former drug policy advisor to the UK's Labour government is in New Zealand to talk about how psychedelic drugs could help control a number of mental health problems and why the war on drugs is a failure. Professor David Nutt has carried out recent clinical trials using LSD and psilocybin (or magic mushroom juice) to see how it affects the brain and why, in some cases, it helps relieve anxiety and depression. He was also sacked from his advisory job after he suggested the decriminalisation of drugs to reduce harm and believes that alcohol is more dangerous than drugs. Professor Nutt is holding a workshop in Christchurch on clinical management of anxiety and depression. He's also speaking at the University of Auckland on drug law reform. His public lecture is in Auckland on 26 February, 6pm.