DOCTORS PUSH FOR LEGAL USE OF CANNABIS

A GROUP of leading doctors has renewed calls for cannabis to be legalised,
insisting it is no more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes.

The British Medical Association's Scottish committee for public health
medicine has submitted a motion to the association's annual conference next
month asking it to support legalising the drug for medicinal and
recreational purposes.

Dr George Venters, the committee chairman, said there was no evidence that
cannabis was addictive. He said: "We want to encourage debate on this issue
and should examine the evidence that has existed for a long time, rather
than people leaping to prejudice. There is much more damage done by smoking
and alcohol than by cannabis. That is the issue."

Maxie Richards, an anti-drugs campaigner, argued that cannabis was far more
carcinogenic than cigarettes. She said: "The clinical trials from America
give cannabis a damning report. It is one of the most dangerous drugs as it
affects the brain."

Lyndsay McIntosh, law and order spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives,
said: "I can think of nothing worse than using a drug like this as a
recreational stimulant especially when Scotland's drug problem is getting
worse by the day."