CANNABIS IS NOT SUCH A BAD THING

SIR, -- I thought your editorial of March 12 was a bit over the top in its
denigration of cannabis.

Evidence shows cannabis is not nearly as bad as you make out. Many families
have had toddlers who have eaten noxious substances and required medical
help. Five and a half cases a year involving cannabis in the North Island
is not a shattering problem.

If cannabis were legal, this sort of problem would be easier to deal with.
For a start, parents would not feel hesitant at telling doctors if cannabis
were involved. Also, the law could make it compulsory for strong cannabis
preparations to be kept in child-proof containers.

I thought it laughable that coroner Garry Evans seemed to blame a recent
fatal car crash on a cannabis cigarette smoked earlier by the driver.
Accidents are caused by bad drivers, not cannabis cigarettes: good drivers
always wait a sufficient time after consuming alcohol or other drugs so
they can drive safely.

Only a very low percentage of fatal accidents are caused by drivers who
have earlier smoked cannabis. The majority are caused by drug-free drivers
and those who have consumed copious amounts of alcohol.

A glance at Dutch statistics shows that having a liberal cannabis law has
not caused the level of cannabis use there to rise above that in countries
which have retained repressive laws. Also, the level of crime and hard drug
use is much lower in Holland than in countries with less liberal drug laws.

What is the point of punishing people if this has no effect in reducing use
of cannabis? I look forward to the day when writers of The Dominion
editorials will have seen the light and realise both the futility of
prohibition and the good sense of legalisation.

D. R. CURRIE Petone