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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Cannabis ban neither realistic nor sensible.
Carl Wagner Letters, Hull Daily Mail
Wednesday 07 Nov 2001 Sir The debate on the legalisation of cannabis is not a debate on either the much-acclaimed therapeutic benefits or the less frequently heard cries echoing from the days of US "Reefer Madness" campaigns. The first duty of government is to ensure the health and well being of all its citizens, so the ultimate decision on whether or not to legalise cannabis rests on the answer to one question:- does prohibition do more harm than good? By failing to address this fundamental question in your analysis, your conclusion that "any relaxation in the law will result in increased use among young people, together with a proportionate increase in the dangerous risks associated with any type of drug taking", is totally wrong. It is vital to differentiate between pure cannabis and the concoctions often sold illegally on the streets of the UK - seldom mentioned by anti-drug agencies. Various reports confirm that the most widely available street cannabis routinely contains: tars and bitumen, glues and solvents, ketamine, barbiturates and other crushed up pharmaceuticals, colouring agents and even animal excrement. This poison is what an estimated 5 million people, including "the children" who the law claims to protect, are routinely smoking. Worse still, because black-market cannabis is diluted, it is necessary to smoke more to achieve the desired effect. The effects on health are certainly far worse than the cannabis plant itself ever could be. Whilst allegations of harm directed at cannabis remain to be proven, the consequences of the destructive prohibition law are clear to anyone who cares to look. Cannabis prohibition poisons, it criminalises millions of people, funds organised crime, increases underage usage, diminishes freedom, promotes disrespect for the law, and does NOT curtail usage. It also brings an increasing number of young people into contact with hard drug dealers. The logical conclusion therefore, is that cannabis prohibition is neither a realistic nor a sensible goal of public policy and should be dismantled immediately. Carl Wagner
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