The body that advises the government on its drugs policy faces fresh controversy after the appointment of an expert with controversial views on homosexuality and the role of religion in combating addiction.

Dr Hans-Christian Raabe, a Manchester GP and member of the Maranatha Community, an inter-denominational Christian movement, was appointed to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) last week.

The committee was plunged into controversy in 2009 when its chairman, Professor David Nutt, resigned after clashing with the government over its decision to reclassify cannabis from a class C to a class B drug.

Raabe, who stood for the European parliament for the Christian Peoples Alliance in 2009 but has since left the party, is medical co-ordinator of the Council for Health and Wholeness (CHW), a Christian organisation based within the Maranatha Community.

Briefing documents for MPs produced by Raabe on behalf of the CHW extol the benefits of marriage in fighting addiction. One states: "Marriage is associated with greater happiness, less depression, less alcohol abuse and less smoking."

The CHW also makes strong claims about the health risks of "the homosexual lifestyle". A briefing document states: "The media and the gay movement portray the homosexual lifestyle as happy, healthy and fulfilled. However, the homosexual lifestyle is associated with a large number of very serious physical and emotional health consequences."

It adds: "A high proportion of homosexual men engage in a destructive lifestyle, for example contracting HIV/Aids or other STIs, and develop addictions to drugs or alcohol. There is a higher burden of depression, [and] attempted or completed suicide among the 'gay population'."

Raabe also co-authored a paper that claimed: "While the majority of homosexuals are not involved in paedophilia, it is of grave concern that there is a disproportionately greater number of homosexuals among paedophiles and an overlap between the gay movement and the movement to make paedophilia acceptable."

It also stated: "Despite the impression given by the media, the actual number of homosexuals is quite small. Essentially all surveys show the number of homosexuals to be only 1-3% of the population."

Drugs charities and experts yesterday expressed surprise that someone of such stringent opinions could be appointed to the committee. One expert in the drugs field, who asked not to be identified, said: "Was he appointed to represent the views of GPs? If so, did other GPs apply? If so, what was it about him that stood out? He is the first overtly political candidate to be appointed to the ACMD. Will candidates for other political parties be appointed?"

Raabe's appointment has been seen as providing ballast against those on the committee who believe that prohibition has failed and want a new approach to classification based on the harm that each respective drug poses to users.

"Harm reduction has its place, but I'm concerned that it's the only policy being advocated," said Raabe, who has spoken out in favour of abstinence-based approaches. "In schools, for example, where the majority of children don't take drugs, we still need a prevention approach."

In an article in the British Medical Journal online, Raabe attacked a "flawed report" by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy that suggested increasing cannabis consumption showed prohibition was failing.

Raabe wrote: "The only way of stopping people from dying from drug-related deaths is to prevent drug use in the first place!"

He also co-signed a letter to a national newspaper in 2004, warning against the government's decision to reclassify cannabis from class B to class C, observing: "A person who uses cannabis by age 15 has more than a four-fold increased risk of developing schizophrenia symptoms over the next 11 years compared with a person starting to use cannabis by 18."

The claims run counter to those of Professor Nutt, who has said that smoking cannabis creates only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness. "The appointment of Dr Raabe confirms in my mind that the ACMD cannot be considered to be a body that has science at the heart of its decision-making," Nutt said.

Raabe's appointment will raise concerns about the role of religious groups in influencing policy and the direction of the committee under the coalition. The CHW has called on UK health regulators to follow the US by working with such groups to prevent drug misuse.

"Studies have shown that religious commitment, religious involvement or being part of a religious community significantly reduces the risk of alcohol, nicotine and drug misuse, and reduces the risk of depression and suicide," the Council for Health and Wholeness said.

Raabe rejected concerns that his faith would influence his advice, saying society was in danger of believing "that if you are a Christian you are not fit for public office or you are biased or a bigot".

Of his views on homosexuality, he said: "This is an appointment regarding drug policy and what views I may or may not have on homosexuality are irrelevant."