CRAZY ATTITUDE TO CANNABIS

IT APPEARS that Ali Marsh may have taken a very simplistic and dangerously
wrong view of the cannabis laws (Cannabis conundrum, Letters, 9/5).

Dr Marsh's very simple view is that if we as a society cannot stamp out a
criminal activity then the answer is to get rid of the law by legalising it
or, at the very least, decriminalising it. Following this principle, we
should then legalise prostitution, rape, murder, assaults, get rid of all
those nasty traffic laws and any other law that people just can't seem to
live with.

Has Dr Marsh carried out a study of road crashes to determine whether or
not cannabis was a contributor or is she just relying on statistics that
may be faulty? Cannabis cannot be detected on a breath machine like alcohol
but can in a blood test. Only a tiny percentage of drivers involved in
crashes would have a blood test. This would give a one-sided result.

Maybe we need more people going to bat for the right things and the good
citizens. Bleeding-heart do-gooders are contributing to the decline of our
once decent, law-abiding establishment that actually operated with more
than just an ounce of common sense and decency.

It seems crazy that here we are trying to decriminalise an illegal drug yet
at the same time we are trying our damnedest to outlaw tobacco, a legal
drug. Perhaps we need to get back to basics, keep illegal drugs illegal and
keep pandora's box firmly closed.

If Dr Marsh would like to check she might find that there is a higher
proportion of heavy users in the Netherlands than in the US and that the
number of users in the Netherlands has in fact increased since the
relaxation of laws.

We all know that facts and figures can be twisted around and the same facts
can be used to corroborate totally opposing views. Let's apply some common
sense and courage. Let's be daring and do what is right for once. Let's
strike a blow for the citizens, especially our children, and keep cannabis
where it should be - out of this country.

B. HALLIGAN,

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