From Mark MacDiarmid, Blue Mountains Community Legal Centre
A causal link between cannabis use and schizophrenia seems tenuous at best (26 March, p 44). There are, however, clear links between contact with the criminal justice system and a deterioration of mental health.
In many countries, upwards of 30 per cent of young people have used cannabis and thereby committed an offence that potentially carries a jail sentence. If those who advocate criminalising cannabis use are serious about wanting to reduce the risk of mental illness among young people, I can only hope that they direct their energy towards finding a penalty that reduces harm, rather than increasing it.
I have yet to speak to a lawyer, police officer, magistrate, judge, psychologist or social worker who believes that processing young people through the courts is a useful treatment for mental illness.
From Ian Barrett
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I question whether the allegedly extra-strong varieties of cannabis really are unusually powerful, and in particular whether they are a new phenomenon.
I have observed many cannabis users, and they typically use significantly less when smoking better-quality cannabis. In the same way, someone who habitually drinks a couple of litres of beer is unlikely to consume the same amount of whisky.
In the end, the legality or illegality of drugs and whether they are classed A, B or C makes little difference to the users out there. They just pick and use the drugs they like.
Cape Town, South Africa
From Bill Measure
Congratulations on pointing out that our knowledge about any link between cannabis and mental health has not been significantly advanced by the two recent studies, even if the popular press has latched onto them.
Jim van Os, an author of one of those studies, does not like the coffee shop at the top of his street in Maastricht. His children have to walk past it, it has shady characters and it illegally sells cannabis to under-18s. But I know that I would rather walk through Amsterdam on a Saturday night among groups of youngsters high on grass than through London or any number of English towns through youngsters tanked up on lager.
London, UK
Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
