HONESTY NEEDED IN CANNABIS DEBATE

Ben Goldacre's level-headed reanalysis of the "cannabis psychosis"
stats (Bad Science, July 28) came as a welcome relief following last
week's tabloid hysteria. But he could have gone further: isn't it
possible - likely even - that people experiencing embryonic,
undiagnosed psychotic symptoms might turn to cannabis for therapeutic
reasons, especially where normal social interactions have become
problematic? That population levels of schizophrenia have remained
constant in the UK over the last 30 years would appear to support
this possibility. As ever, in the social (and all) sciences, one
cannot infer causation from correlation.

Nigel Longhurst Liverpool