WHY PUNISH THE MENTALLY ILL?

I'd like to respond to the anonymous writers of the two letters (Mail 8th
and 9th April), who both claim that a family member has ended up in a
mental hospital because of cannabis use.

There's a vast difference between saying that cannabis is safe and claiming
that it can never have a bad effect on some people.

People suffer mental problems for all sorts of reasons and it's possible
that in this case cannabis, or whatever illegal concoction it was that she
consumed, may have played a part.

I am not a doctor or psychiatrist so I am unable to comment on individual
cases, however, I must point out that this situation has been allowed to
develop under the present prohibition policy.

The question I have to ask is: How can anyone justify punishing the
unfortunate person who is apparently in a mental ward, let alone other
cannabis users, which is what the law threatens to do?

Carl Wagner

Hull