SPARE US

Sir - Your leading article on cannabis (Feb. 7) fails to make one
crucial point.

Legalisation would undoubtedly lead to more deaths - from sheer
boredom, as more and more people are exposed to the witless ramblings
of dopeheads.

I don't know what is more lethal: the painstakingly slow and solemn
ritual of "skinning up"; the earnest debate over the quality of the
"weed", as prolonged and sententious as anything chaired by Jon Snow;
or the inexplicable chortling of dope-smokers as they discover yet
another layer of esoteric meaning in The Magic Roundabout.

Besides, the stuff makes anyone over the age of 30 horribly paranoid,
inducing the sort of rapid heartbeat normally associated with 10-mile
hikes or tax returns. I'll settle for a stiff gin and tonic.

Robin Farmer
York