Cliff Prior,
chief executive, Rethink, London EC2

Out of control

GIVEN that serious warnings about the danger of cannabis were made known to the international community at least two decades ago, all the political parties in the UK have fudged the issue. Most of us need to be reassured that the pilot or bus driver doesn’t make a habit of using cannabis and that the law can protect us by being vigorous in deterring its use.

The current research has clearly provided a shield for those genetically sensitive to cannabis and further research may provide society with a better defence against its abuse, but we are way behind the times now and have missed the best chances to control it.

John Hinchliffe,
Padstow

It doesn’t add up

I AM a hospital manager and, under the Mental Health Act, sit on panels which hear the case either for renewing or withdrawing a section on a patient. The majority have a history of mental illness, which invariably begins with the abuse of cannabis. Although many respond to treatment and are safe for discharge, they are often returned to the secure hospital environment because they cannot resist the temptation of easily available drugs.

I remember hearing a senior police officer say that the relaxation of the law on cannabis had saved him £400,000 in police overtime. It costs the taxpayer around £125,000 a year to look after one patient in a secure hospital environment. Clearly, the relaxation of the law makes no economic sense; not to mention the terrible human misery caused.

Peter Stroudley,
Southend-on-Sea

Necessary controls

THIS is the first time we’ve had the risk quantified like this — it puts the risk of developing psychosis in young people who use cannabis at less than 3.25 per cent of the population. That’s a small figure.

Yet your article gives the impression that this supports calls by Marjorie Wallace of Sane for yet more prohibition by returning cannabis to Class B — a call not supported by other mental health charities. I would suggest it supports demands for an entirely different regime for cannabis — one which restricts sales to young people and one which controls the strength of cannabis sold. Of course, prohibition makes this impossible.