THE MERITS OF CANNABIS

Sir, Julian Crawford's argument (Mailbox, January 19) that there is nothing
dopey about cannabis and that cannabis is used for intellectual stimulation
cannot be used in broad sweeping statements to justify making this class C
drug legal.

Professor Grinspoon of Harvard Medical Scholl may thoink he had been
brainwashed and now believes non users behave irrationally. If only the
results of a 15 years old boy coming home "stoned" and behaving in a very
"dopey" way, were all we had to deal with, you could be forgiven for
thinking, "what are we worrying about"?

It's the next phase that isn't pretty-watching abnd having to deal with the
withdrawal from being "stoned". It's very hard to relate to someone so
depressed and miserable that they contemplate suicide, and I, a non user,
am happy not to be in that space. The withdrawal process is completed by
the return of a happy-go-lucky teenage boy (with all of the usual teenage
problems).

I'm not dismissing the merits of cannabis use fore medical conditions which
modern medicines don't seem to assist: but cannabis use doesn't benefit
everyone. As to whether it is addictive or not, it certainly isn't for the
use of the many.

P Baldwin,
Nelson