LETTER: CANNABIS FACTS
Source: York Press
Date: December 28 2007
Author: Steve Clements
ALED Jones hits on his best argument yet for the
legalisation of cannabis, as he believes that it is so much stronger these days
than in the 1960s.
As he points out, alcohol is regulated under strict guidelines with indications
of strength etcetera, something that is not possible with cannabis under
prohibition.
As regards its strength, both the Advisory Council on the Misuse of drugs and
the European Drug Monitoring Centre have reported only modest, if any,
increases in its strength in the past 30 years.
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I, along with many others, can confirm this. Strong cannabis has always been
available (as in Holland), with little evidence that it causes any more or less
harm than weaker strains.
I'm sure Mr Jones is very happy living in his cotton-wool world, where alcohol
is not a dangerous drug, and his misconceptions of cannabis are fuelled by
political propaganda.
As someone who I'm sure has never touched the stuff, how on earth would he
know?
One thing cannabis is not, is a controlled drug. One thing is clear, there is
no justification to threaten millions of adult cannabis users, who do no harm
to others, with prosecution for their own free choice.
The evidence is clear. Alcohol kills, cannabis does not. If there is no victim,
there is no crime.
Steve Clements, The Legalise Cannabis Alliance ( LCA ), York.
http://www.thisisyork.co.uk/news/readersletters/display.var.1930928.0.cannabis_facts.php
With
reference to the letter from Howard J Wooldridge (Nice try Mr Jones, November
26), I'm appalled by his gross misrepresentations about the mind-altering drug
known as cannabis. I really do wish these self-styled "experts" would
keep quiet.
The writer claims that cannabis's drawbacks are a puppy
compared with the use of alcohol. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Those who regard alcohol as a much stronger drug are
living completely in the past - the hippy era to be precise. While it's true
that cannabis grown in the 60s and 70s had quite low THC levels, the same
cannot be said of modern high-grade cannabis.
It's a hard drug that's certainly not to be used by people
who need to drive cars or operate equipment/machinery etc.
If anything, Mr Wooldridge, it's alcohol which is the
puppy compared with the use of cannabis. Alcohol is always sold under strict
guidelines with the alcoholic percentage clearly stated.
Not so with cannabis, which is peddled on the streets
without any health warnings at all. People who smoke cannabis have simply no
idea what THC levels they are taking into their blood streams.
Cannabis has become a very strong drug and trying to make
people think it's a chill-out drug from the 1960s is both unreasonable and
highly dangerous.
Aled Jones, Mount Crescent, Bridlington
20th December 2007