DRUG PROHIBITION THE DANGER

LETTER writer M. Martin of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of WA Inc
(Don't go soft on cannabis, Letters Extra, 10/12) is right about one thing.

Like any drug, cannabis can be harmful if abused.

It's not the effects of cannabis that necessitate a change in drug laws,
but rather the dangers posed by cannabis prohibition.

There is a big difference between condoning cannabis use and protecting
children from drugs.

Decriminalisation acknowledges the social reality of cannabis and frees
users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records.

What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating
the hard and soft drug markets is critical.

As long as cannabis distribution remains in the hands of organised crime,
consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive drugs like
heroin. This gateway is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.

Unlike alcohol, cannabis has not been shown to cause an overdose death, nor
does it share tobacco's adddictive properties.

Cannabis may be relatively harmless, but cannabis prohibition is deadly.

ROBERT SHARPE

Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington DC, US.