Lasting harm of skunk

SIR – I read of the tragic death of Lord Monson’s son (“Skunk led my son to kill himself ”, Features, April 27), and strongly endorse the call for this powerful form of cannabis to be reclassified as a class A drug.

I am a nurse and teacher who used to teach “independent living skills” to patients with serious mental health problems who were on a rehabilitation programme. Time and again, skunk was held to be a trigger for the psychotic episodes from which these patients suffered, which often occurred while attending university.

Indeed, our patients remained damaged even after being taught to live more independently in the community. I sincerely hope that Lord Monson’s “war on skunk” is heeded. J Rosemary Grabau Lymington, Hampshire