IDEOLOGY NOT SCIENCE

Sir-In November 1995, a Lancet editorial began, "The smoking of
cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."

In November 1998, with laudable self-honesty, a Lancet editorial
proclaimed that "we will qualify our opinion of three years ago and
say that, on the evidence available, moderate indulgence in cannabis
has little ill-effect on health".

Bruce Logan (February 28) would do well to ponder such thoughtful
analysis, rather than make arrantly fallacious claims about cannabis
"staying in the blood for weeks", or "one joint a day causing
permanent brain damage".

Logan, Trevor Grice, and their ilk are spouting an ideology that has
nothing to do with science or medicine.

JEFF D. UPTON