Source: Worthing Herald, UK

Pub Date: Thursday, 18 September 2003

Pub LTE: Cannabis hasn't killed anyone in 6,000 years...

Author: Steve Clements.

Web: http://www.worthingtoday.co.uk

Contact: letters@worthingtoday.co.uk

I WAS shocked and deeply offended by the scare-mongering letter you have published from Tony Stubbs regarding a supposed increase in admissions to a local psychiatric hospital during the period that a cannabis cafe has been operating in Worthing.

I have never heard of such a load of ridiculous rubbish in all my life. I presume that Tony's point is to indicate an increase in cannabis use and to show that this has had a detrimental affect on people's mental health.

I for one am not willing to believe any such claims until clear evidence is provided showing the facts and links this may have to cannabis. The use of cannabis is endemic in our society and has been for a very long time indeed. How come all of a sudden we have psychotics and schizophrenics positively multiplying all over the place due to cannabis use, when any mention of changing the law is being debated?

I suggest this neurotic fear of a plant less harmful to your health than coffee is still based on the lies and mis-information, from which the prohibitionists and moralists try to corrupt the facts as much as they can in a rather pathetic attempt at putting off the inevitable as we work towards a world that will be significantly better than this nanny state we currently live in.

Solvents are the biggest killer of young people through illicit drug use. These, however, are readily available in every corner shop in the land!

Alcohol kills between 30-40 thousand people a year!

Tobacco kills thousands of people a year!

Passive smoking kills as many people as heroin every year.

Cannabis has not killed anyone in over 6,000 years of use.

Cannabis is the safest therapeutically active substance known to man!

I prefer to base my judgements in life on facts and evidence and reality. I suggest others associate themselves with the facts and stop trying to un-necessarily scare the hell out of everyone.