Sir:

The ridiculously out-dated 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is patently not
stopping the great British public from consuming ever greater quantities by
criminalising their use ("Trainspotting: the reality". 13 February).

The new Home Office report demonstrated that government policy is giving
3600m per year to violent criminal gangs in London alone every year. I
propose the Government legalise cannabis, tax it, and use the money to
subsidise proper education and harm-reduction campaigns against hard drugs.

Though the public has accepted that drug-taking is as common place as, and
safer than, many legal activities, the Government continues in its futile
War on Drugs, denying any debate - even on the subject of medicinal=
cannabis.

Jon Thompson
Macclesfield, Cheshire.