Pubdate: Mon, 15 Jul 2013
Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
Copyright: 2013 Herald and Weekly Times
Contact: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/letter
Website: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/187
Author: James Clapham

MIXED MESSAGE

THE idea that Prof Robin Room's pro-marijuana legalisation opinion 
risks sending a dangerous message to young Australians ("Drug debate 
out of puff", HS, July 10) is misguided. His basic point is not as 
absurd as it has been made out to be: like alcohol, marijuana is 
hardly good for humans to consume but, on the balance of evidence, 
pot is almost certainly less socially deleterious than booze.

Nobody denies that marijuana is associated with various mental health 
problems; but by the same token, all one has to do is go out on a 
Saturday night to see the equally real problems associated with 
alcohol consumption.

Given we live in a society that tolerates (indeed, celebrates) the 
consumption of alcohol, it is the current criminalisation of the 
relatively socially benign drug cannabis that is surely the more 
confused message.

James Clapham, Toorak
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