Source : The Observer, UK Contact : Sat, 4 Apr 1998 WHY PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT GET STONED Every year some 80,000 British people are prosecuted for small cannabis offences; thousands are thrown into prison; tens of thousands are cautioned. Every person in Britian is forced to contribute towards the annual cost of more than 500 million pounds to fight a drugs war which has long been lost. The only achievements of prohibition have been the filling of the courts with otherwise law abiding cannabis users, alienating our youth, lining the pockets of criminal organisations, opening a gateway to hard drugs, and prolonging the suffering of sick people who benefit from cannabis. More than 16,000 people marched in London. It was a great day with no trouble or strife. I was there and the Observer (news, last week) reflected nothing of the spirit of freedom with which even the police co-operated! Alun Buffry Norwich - ---------------------- I found your report on the "legalise cannabis" march to be insulting. This country needs to discuss sensibly policies that criminalise so many people. Cheap shots are all very well, but it takes real courage to stand up in front of surveilance cameras and be counted. Prohibition laws patently do not work. We as a society need to address the issues that cannabis raises - for medical and recreational use. James Murdoch Crief - ---------------------- I enjoyed your coverage of the cannabis demonstration. It was incisive reporting at its best. But I was surprised that you missed the opportunity for humour in the report on tobacco firms targetting young people in their advertising. Surely this was a perfect chance for your correspondent to write in the style of a 60 a day chain smoker, punctuated with choking fits and pauses to light another fag. Robin Pinquey Amsterveen The Netherlands