CANNABIS CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU

Dear Sir/Madam,

Piers Akerman uses half-truths, distortions and selective reporting in his
Opinion piece headed "Quacks, flips and Premiers" (Daily Telegraph May 17)
in an attempt to shore up support for the continued criminalisation of the
recreational use of drugs other than alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.

Contrary to his continued assertions, there is plenty of evidence to show
that medically supervised injecting facilities save lives, reduce harm to
both drug users and non users and reduce crime.

Not only is cannabis the fourth most popular recreational drug after
caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, there is also plenty of evidence that
cannabis, unlike alcohol and nicotine, is a unique and effective medicine.

Mr Akerman's calls for the use of cannabis in pill form only demonstrates
his ignorance of the pharmacology of the drug.

But the ultimate piece of selective reporting must be Mr Akerman's failure
to comment on the devastating effect that alcohol has on some Aboriginal
communities.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Michael Dawson
Senior Lecturer Department of Chemistry, Materials and Forensic Science
University of Technology
Sydney PO Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007