TRAGIC END FOR JASON

The tragic death of Jason Smith highlights yet another wasted life and
writes another chapter into the great debate on cannabis.

Jason was a lovely baby, a typical happy toddler, but by 13 he had used
cannabis, by 22 he was on heroin and at 26 he died of an overdose of
methadone.

It is a familiar story of spiralling drug abuse.

Unusually, his mother has chosen not to condemn that early exposure to drugs
but joined calls for the legalisation of cannabis - a course which she
believes would see an end to dealers.

Most experts, and the law, still disagree. Cannabis is still seen as the
first step on that deadly downhill spiral. Legalising its use will simply
open the door to wider abuse of hard drugs.

Surely our ultimate aim should be a drug free society, except for prescribed
medical use.

Anything else seems to be papering over societies ills rather than facing up
to the root causes.