Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 Source: Irish Times, The (Ireland) Copyright: 2013 The Irish Times Contact: http://www.irishtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/214 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n320/a05.html Page: 17 CANNABIS AND THE LAW Sir, Further to Brian O'Connell's article ("Time to clear the air on cannabis", Health & Family, July 6th), I would like to point out that if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of Anglo-American cultural norms, cannabis would be legal. Unlike alcohol, cannabis has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, cannabis can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. Cannabis prohibition has clearly failed as a deterrent. The US now has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands where cannabis is legally available. The only winners in the war on cannabis are drug gangs and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. Yours, etc, ROBERT SHARPE, Spencer Avenue, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt