Pubdate: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 Source: Sun, The (UK) Contact: http://www.the-sun.co.uk Note: 14 LTEs - from both sides of the issue DON'T LET DRUG DEALERS DRAG OUR KIDS INTO HELL Legalise cannabis? No way! I speak as a mum who lost her son after a long, hard battle against drugs. He died of a heroin overdose. Only another mother will understand my anguish at having been unable to save him. I now fear for my other two children. We are in hell - and the dealers put us here. I would warn other youngsters not to touch cannabis. Mrs Gillian Bond, Farnborough, Hants. It is ridiculous that in a society faced with so many drugs, drink and tobacco, we arbitrarily choose to tax some and spend millions failing to control others. Either prohibit all drugs (which would clearly cause riots) or be sensible, legalise pot and take millions from the pockets of the drug dealers to put in the pockets of that other bunch of crooks, the Government. Nick Pearce, Lancaster I suffer from multiple sclerosis. There is evidence that smoking cannabis relieves some of my symptoms. But even though I am not interested in using the drug I know many of my fellow sufferers would like to try it. Some, I know, use cannabis illegally. For this reason I believe cannabis should be legalised. Spencer Arnott, Holmer Green, Bucks NO, I don't think cannabis should be legalised. Both my brothers have been in prison due to drugs and they started on cannabis. One went on to become a heroin addict. Thankfully, he is in rehab. I smoked cannabis aged 15 to 17 which led me to take LSD, speed and ecstasy. Fortunately I moved town and stopped but it could easily have been me in rehab, too. Sandra Holt, Rochdale, Lancs CANNABIS should be legalised because it is already in common use by the younger generation. I have smoked it for around a year and think it is better than drinking as the after-effects are a lot less harsh. Dan Muir, Hillsea, Hants. WE were clueless about drugs until dealers moved into our quiet cul-de-sac and we saw people who smoked pot going on to harder drugs. I cried when I saw young men driving up, buying their stuff, then using it in public. We made it difficult for the dealers to work and eventually they moved out. JAS, Bristol DRUG CSAR Keith Hellawell has certainly not helped in the fight against our young people becoming addicts. The only sense spoken in the Sun's article quoting him was by the heroin users. Most parents of Class-A drug users know their children progressed from cannabis. Instead of making useless remarks, Hellawell should get our children more treatment. Janet Groves, Drugs Anonymous Movement, Telford. I GREW cannabis to help my father who had arthritis. It was a success until the police found out. Now I have a criminal record. Prohibition never works as history shows. It encourages black market dealing and creates unnecessary danger. Daniel Becker, Peckham, London I HAVE smoked cannabis for nine years and although I have been to many dealers I have never been offered anything other than what i wanted. Even cannabis dealers hold smackheads in contempt. I have a good job, am law-abiding and happy, but I'm classed as a law-breaker because I relax with a joint. We should legalise cannabis, tax it, and stop persecuting people. A.K Hanley, Staffs. AS a mother of a 19-year-old heroin addict, I wish Government Ministers would live in our house for a week. Until a year ago my daughter was a lovely girl who I knew had smoked pot. Now our life is a nightmare. Legalise pot? No way. Mrs G S Egremont, Cumbria YOU QUOTE heroin addict Laura from Peterhead as saying: "You can bet your life that every heroin addict started out with cannabis." Well, I'm willing to bet that the first drug tried by virtually every addict is either tobacco or alcohol - legal but drugs all the same. Graham Wynne, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancs. IF cannabis was legalised, resources could then go into tackling the real drug problems of heroin and crack cocaine instead of wasting time and money on busting dope dealers. Mrs Katrina Copeland, Dumfirmline, Fife IF smoking cannabis REALLY led to harder drugs, we would have a Government full of crack-smoking, heroin-injecting MPs - and while their behaviour is certainly odd, they're not that bad. C. Hunter, Penwortham, Lancs. Many thanks to The Sun for publishing the Britain's Drug Crisis series. trying to legalise cannabis is courting disaster. After all, for 300 years they told us tobacco was safe. Mark Seymour-Taylor, Willesden Green, NW London. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D