Letter: Cannabis Must be Made Legal
Source: The Sentinel
Date: December 3 2007
Author: Dilys Wood, Legalise Cannabis Alliance
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I write after reading your report 'Landlords backing crackdown on drugs' (The
Sentinel, November 28), while four pages prior seeing 'Extra patrols in time
for Christmas', a piece about Leek and Cheadle police in an effort to reduce
drink-related violence in the area.
Once again I am forced to point out the utter hypocrisy of UK drug law and
society's view of legal and illegal drugs.
We are reminded constantly about the increasing problem of binge and under-age
drinking and all it leads to, illness, violence and often death. In contrast,
cannabis use by 15-24 year-olds has fallen sharply (according to a new EU drug
agency report) from 28.2 percent in 1998 to 21.4 percent in 2006.
Britain also no longer tops the European cannabis league among those aged
15-34.
Despite this and its own figures, which show a reduction in cannabis use since
reclassification to Class C, this Government is preparing the way to revert
cannabis back to the more serious Class B category, alongside lethal substances
such as amphetamine and ethyl morphine.
Reverting to Class B means more cannabis users in court receiving fines instead
of cautions, fines which in no way cover the cost of getting the case through
court.
Lord Cobbald, in a House of Lords debate (October 29) about the Government's
public consultation into drug policy for the next 10 years, stated that
"Prohibition was expected to rid the world of drugs by now. This has
manifestly failed.
We now have a drugs trade which is reckoned to be the second largest world
trade after oil and is totally in the hands of criminals, costing the country
£20 billion. To continue with present policies is to accept and effectively
tolerate the existence of the criminal gangs that control the trade".
I am not suggesting that cannabis is harmless and certainly youngsters must be
educated about and deterred from its use. However the current system of
prohibition does nothing to protect children and criminalises otherwise
law-abiding adults.
Used in moderation by adults, cannabis is a relatively harmless substance.
Subjecting it to a regime of prohibition simply imposes new and unnecessary
dangers in addition to anything the plant might do. It also treats those it
claims to be protecting as the enemy.
Write to your MP, ask for their views and then either educate them or engage
their help. At some point in the future cannabis will be legalised.
Let's ensure that change happens sooner rather than later, for the sake of us,
our children and future generations.
DILYS WOOD Legalise Cannabis Alliance
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/
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