We first warned in 2003 of the increase in young people running into problems with cannabis. The illicit drugs industry is one of the largest industries in the world and it is entirely unregulated. Consequently, cannabis can be sold freely to children, which would seem preposterous for alcohol or tobacco. Sadly, the only way forwards that I can see is to bring cannabis further into the sphere of the law, which would set appropriate age limits on use. Professor Richard Hammersley, Director, Centre for Behavioural Aspects of Health and Disease, Glasgow Caledonian University [end]
Professor Neil McKeganey (October 25) writes that "Perhaps what we need is a good deal more intolerance of all illegal drugs". We are perplexed at this opinion, which contradicts the evidence about solutions to drug problems. Be intolerant of the psychological, social and economic conditions that perpetuate drug problems, rather than of use and users. Near-zero tolerance was tried between about 1980 and 1995, particularly in the US, while levels of illegal drug use rose to unprecedented levels. Fortunes are spent trying to diminish the supply of drugs, with minimal effect. The illegal drugs industry (one of the world's largest industries) will operate as long as there is demand for illegal drugs, passing on to the consumer the added costs of social and legal "intolerance". Increased expenditure on Customs and police activities would not be worth the cost. Furthermore, it serves the drugs industry's interests to remain illegal, because operating in an entirely unregulated fashion maximises profits. [continues 516 words]
Not that cannabis is a safe drug, because there is no such thing, but it is not "more dangerous than heroin" (Melanie Reid, October 19). We assert that even though one of us has published work showing heroin not to be as dangerous as commonly thought. It is not even true that cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol. The evidence, misrepresented in the article, is that starting to use cannabis under 15 makes subsequent psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia more likely among people susceptible to such problems. There may be a genetic component. Robin Murray has made a substantial and sophisticated contribution to the relevant research that deserves better coverage than given here. One recent paper that Murray co-authored concluded: "Although the regular use of cannabis may increase risk of psychotic symptoms, most of those who use cannabis regularly do not develop psychosis and most cases of psychosis are not attributable to cannabis." [continues 324 words]
