CANNABIS

PROF ROBIN Taylor's response to Stephen McIntyre (6.8.01) shows that Prof
Taylor misses the point of cannabis law reform entirely.

Prof Taylor claimed that ". . . the onus is on those who support the free
use of cannabis to reassure us that the harmful effects on the lungs are
somewhat different from those of tobacco". He obviously hasn't realised
that any effect cannabis may have on the lungs doesn't justify the
criminalisation and incarceration of otherwise law-abiding individuals. The
damage which unnecessary criminalisation of cannabis users causes, vastly
exceeds the negative effects of both responsible and irresponsible cannabis
use.

Prohibition hasn't stopped many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders
from diverse geographic and demographic communities from smoking the herb.
It simply means that many who choose to smoke are deprived of State,
community and family support, and young cannabis smokers are deprived of
the ability to make informed judgements regarding their cannabis use. Harm
minimisation, effective education, and better funded treatment providers
are clearly a better option than the terrible cannabis policy we are
currently burdened with. Cannabis law reform is both inevitable and necessary.

Duncan Eddy

City Rise