IN your report, Drugs czar calls for testing of emergency staff, you
say that "Keith Hellawell has called on Scotland's emergency services
to lead the way in the anti- abuse war by introducing screening
programmes in the workplace".

While appreciating the need to ensure that all workers are in a fit
condition to do their job, I have to wonder why Mr Hellawell and his
bosses are so keen to test almost everybody for illegal drugs. The
only advantage I can see to such a policy would be to sell more
drug-testing kits.

Since the vast majority of these tests detect only cannabis, which
could have been absorbed weeks before or even only passively, the
results are clearly a waste of time and money.

Furthermore, all the official Government-sponsored studies into the
effects of cannabis conclude that it has no detrimental effect on
either motor or cognitive skills, yet relieves stress and tension.
Even a test which did show current intoxication would be no reason to
punish the users.

Maybe it is the drugs czar himself who should be tested daily, in case
someone in his office building unwittingly caused him to passively
inhale the healing smoke of the cannabis plant which he has described
as "evil".

Alun Buffry. Winter Road, Norwich.