CHARLES'S VIEW OF DRUGS IS OUTMODED

Re: Legalise cannabis

FROM the coverage of Prince Harry's experiments with cannabis, I was
surprised to learn that his father still subscribes to the discredited
"gateway theory", that the use of cannabis leads to the use of hard
drugs report, Jan 13. Numerous studies contradict this view.

While some cannabis users do progress to hard drugs, the steps are
sociological, not pharmacological. The only link between cannabis and
heroin is their illegal status. Cannabis should be withdrawn from the
black market, as in the Netherlands, which country has the lowest
incidence of drug addiction in Europe.

By sending his son to visit some recovering junkies, Prince Charles
demonstrated the abject failure of current drugs policy in Britain.

Russell Cronin,

Louth, Lincolnshire