Those of us who do not use illicit drugs are getting a lousy deal out of drug prohibition. Cabinet Office Minister Mowlam's call for a 'sensible debate' on drugs policy (News, last week) is right on target. People who smoke tobacco or drink alcohol pay taxes to compensate society for the collective health care costs that fall on all of us. It's not an ideal solution but it beats the alternative that Americans suffered during Alcohol Prohibition and that we chose for drugs other than alcohol and tobacco. We should learn the lesson from the failed experiment of Prohibition and legalise and tax currently illegal drugs, starting with cannabis. I'd rather see all that money go to the Chancellor than to unscrupulous criminals. Drug taxes would provide billions in funds for education and treatment, the only approaches to the drug problem that works. Joe Wein Yokohama, Japan [end]
IF William Marshall ("Going up in smoke", "Evening Courier", October 11) wants to show us how Britain might change after cannabis decriminalisation, why doesn't he simply look at Dutch realities? Twenty four years after possession of 30 grammes of cannabis was decriminalised there, a mere 2.5 per cent of the Dutch population - one person in 40 - regularly use the herb. Adolescent use rates are around half of what they are in Britain. In the Netherlands decriminalisation has taken the glamour out of cannabis. Cannabis prohibition is completely counterproductive, continually tempting young people through the "forbidden fruit" effect. Let's get real, let's go Dutch! Joe Wein, Japan [end]