Source: Evening News, Norwich, UK

Pub Date: Friday, September 2 1998

PUB LTE: This would never work

Author: The Technical Officer

Contact: EveningNewsLetters@ecn.co.uk

THIS WOULD NEVER WORK

Mr Sandhams solution (Aug 20) is simple - lock up everyone who has anything to do with drugs and throw away the key.

This would never work.

The fact is that millions of people in the UK take drugs.

There are so many different drugs available to people that there have to be honest guidelines put out so that people can choose and know the truth.

Alcohol and tobacco, killing 30,000 and 110,000 respectively in the UK each year are the worst drugs in the UK in terms of death. At the other end of the scale no one has ever died from cannabis or mushrooms.

Are all drugs the same? No, a distinction must be made between heroin and alcohol type drugs which can cause death, physical and mental disorders as well as having negative effects on the users family and environment.

Cannabis does not. Legalising drugs such as cannabis would mean that proper restrictions could be put in place, age limits could be introduced along with strict licensing that would mean anyone selling to under 18's would be in trouble with the law. isn't this what we all want?

The current system encourages criminal activity, high drug profits and sale to anyone, even kids.

Seventy years of prohibition have failed. When will Tony Blaire and the rest of society realise that prohibition is causing more harm than good?

The sooner the better for all of us.

The Technical Officer, Trunch.