ANTI-CANNABIS CRUSADE

In response to your report "MPs call for drugs to be classified on
basis of risks" (31 July), the most widely used illicit drug is
cannabis, which occupies the place of alcohol in many non-Western
countries. Unlike alcohol, cannabis has never been shown to cause an
overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco.

If health outcomes determined drugs laws instead of cultural norms,
cannabis would be legal. And, in spite of clear evidence that
draconian drug laws fail to deter use, the United States government
is exporting a dangerous moral crusade around the world.

Unfortunately, cannabis represents the counterculture to misguided
reactionaries, intent on forcibly imposing their version of morality.

Cannabis can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate
as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. Britain should
"just say no" to the American inquisition.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC USA