MERELY A SCIENTIST

Sir, -- Peter Cohen is described by Frans Koopmans as "merely" a scientist
(November 13). Would not the public, and especially the members of the
health select committee on cannabis, be better served by paying attention
to a "mere" scientist who has a 20-year career in researching drugs and
drug use among a diverse range of people, than to Mr Koopmans, a person who
has experience only in dealing with people whose abuse of drugs has been so
severe as to lead them to require treatment?

It's not going soft on drugs that causes harm, it's going too hard. As Dr
Cohen has pointed out, the majority of people who use cannabis, whether
moderately or not, suffer no lasting ill effects from cannabis use, and
indeed many benefit from using cannabis medicinally.

Dr Cohen reports that drug use tends to increase irrespective of legal
status. Prohibition creates fear among those who need help with drug
problems, fear that keeps them from seeking the help they need.

Mr Koopmans might have fewer people in his centre if cannabis were
prohibited in the Netherlands; many would be afraid to go to see him.

LEO McINTYRE

Kilbirnie