Is it time we legalised cannabis solely for medical purposes?

WILLIAM HAGUE and the Left think that opening the flood gates towards legalising cannabis in Britain, as in Canada, is going to reduce the harm it does to people who use it for so-called recreational purposes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says cannabis is a Class 1 narcotic. The Left says it’s a medicine. Laudanum, which is the narcotic raw opium in a mixture of alcohol, was also once used as a painkiller. But the highly addictive opiate drove many Victorians mad. If Britain legalises cannabis, do you want your children’s school bus driver to be a ‘recreational’ user? Whoever thinks cannabis does no harm to the human body should visit hospitals where addicts are treated.

MAURICE BLIGH, Sittingbourne, Kent. THERE are two issues over the legalisation of cannabis: medicinal and recreational use. I am disappointed that

the urgent issue of medicinal use is being clouded. Some pain-killing drugs contain opium, but the recreational use of opium has not been legalised.

k. J. SPEERS, Watchet, Somerset.

I CAN see the need to regulate cannabis for medical reasons and the number of people being prescribed it would be low. Drug smuggling is a different matter. Whole-of-life jail sentences and confiscation of assets should be the ultimate punishments.

STEVEN ELLIOTT, Nottingham. MY HUSBAND Andrew Tyler died at Dignitas last year. During his illness, he took the cannabis CDB, costing £200 for 10ml, without the active ingredient THC. While this helped, he could perhaps have lived longer without so much pain if he’d had the illegal version. MPs should stand up to the pharmaceutical and medical industries so very sick people can be given access to cannabis to relieve their suffering.

SARA STARKEY, Tonbridge, kent.

WE NEED research to discover how cannabis can be turned into an effective medicine. Better that than to increase the number of people with psychotic disorders through the use of this mind-bending drug.

CHRIS PATE, Worcester. IN ALLOWING Charlotte Caldwell to give her son Billy cannabis oil for his severe epilepsy, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has re-opened the debate for the legalisation of cannabis. It seems cruel to deny it to patients for whom it can control an illness and alleviate pain and suffering. Let’s hope the Caldwell case is a catalyst for decriminalising cannabis for controlled medicinal use.

DIANE SILVA, Lytham St Annes, Lancs.

MY WIFE and I suffer from arthritis and rely on painkillers. Legalising cannabis would help us immensely and save money for the NHS, as we would not have to take expensive medication.

MIKE PEIRSON, Romney Marsh, kent.