Control cannabis

11:27am Thursday 2nd August 2007

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ALWYN Glover is absolutely right to express his concern over politicians' shenanigans regarding cannabis (Mixed messages on cannabis cause alarm, Readers' Letters, July 28).

However, the classification argument is a red herring from a Government promoting a continuation of a repeatedly discredited policy of prohibition. After all, it was a Class B drug when half the Cabinet tried, but didn't enjoy, it.

A sense of proportion is needed when dealing with cannabis and mental health. Hysterical headlines and scaremongering do not help with the facts. Leslie Iverson, professor of pharmacology and member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, said: "The authors admit that there is no conclusive evidence that cannabis use causes psychotic illness. Their prediction that 14 per cent of psychotic outcomes in the UK may be due to cannabis use is not supported by the fact that the incidence of schizophrenia has not shown any significant change in the last 30 years."

The association between alcohol and mental health problems is considerably stronger. Nothing has changed about cannabis. It isn't particularly stronger than it used to be; strong strains of cannabis have always been available.

Six million otherwise law-abiding people use cannabis in the UK, prohibition does not work and creates more harm than cannabis itself. The only sensible option is to legalise it and regulate its sale properly to adults who can make their own choices.

Until then, I'm afraid that credible and accurate information regarding it will continue to be skewed by a political agenda which has little to do with protecting us and more to do with protecting the interests of corporate paymasters. If you want credible info on cannabis, I suggest you pay a visit to Holland.

Steve Clements, The Legalise Cannabis Alliance, Asquith Avenue, York.