Cannabis concerns

Victoria Davis (March 1) wrote once more beating her drum over legalising cannabis. She also wrote that National planned to spend $1 billion on new prison beds and that if that money was added to the saving of $550 million annually by legalising the drug it could give $1.55m for health.

This is a totally unrealistic expectation based on assumptions. She seems to think that the 1800 prison beds are for drug related offences which is quite ridiculous and she ignores the fact that unrestricted cannabis use would often lead to abuse, addiction, ill health, work lethargy and accident proneness which would load the health and welfare systems with many times the cost of her perceived savings.

She cited a NZ millionaire in Colorado who grows cannabis as an example for us. I believe through that this man supplies largely recreational cannabis and in spite of trumpeted reports of the success of liberalisation in Colorado latest reports are to the contrary, especially in relation to mental and physical health.

Our own wannabe cannabis millionaires in waiting must be salivating at the prospect of liberalisation. These ‘‘business people’’ couldn’t care about the negatives, the personal misery and ruin to individuals and family and society.

Great Aunt Ethel had an impressive library and would regularly press her precious classics on to a reluctant Priscilla and extended the invitation to me. Bliss.

Plot summaries for Priscilla to report back to Great Aunt Ethel and a double escape from CJ House for me. A best friend and books! have found a more subtle means of ‘‘sport’’.

One wonders the the verdict of our primitive ideas 1000 years hence.

The only justification seems to be the well-paid jobs of thousands of top paternalistic-minded officials throughout the world; then perhaps, as one who has only experienced the hard drug of ethanol, I amsomewhat prejudiced.