HAVING seen Howard Marks's appearance at Bolton's Albert Halls, I take issue with the remarks made in your "Opinion column" (BEN: November 9).

It didn't surprise me that yet again the BEN showed complete incompetence in doing some simple research. If you bothered to read a few pages of his book, you would be able to ascertain that Howard's only preoccupation is concerned with the use of marijuana.

You wrote: 'The lifestyle of a marijuana smoker wrecks lives, breaks up families and breeds crime." Some scientific studies of the effects of long-term alcoholism draw the exact same conclusions. I dare say you could find similar reports linking heroin abuse to those effects. Let me know when you can back up those claims against marijuana use.

Also his book is called 'Mr Nice" not "Mr. Nice Guy"

Perhaps your reporter had been drinking too heavily so as not to notice the 20 foot banner on stage with the book's correct title.

The reporter claims the audience was predominantly male and young. Again this was inaccurate. I will turn 42 next month and my wife thoroughly enjoyed the evening as well. We weren't the only middle-aged people enjoying themselves there.

It's a shame the local paper couldn't match our local MP in sincerity, rather than displaying reporting which is clearly tainted with ignorance and prejudice.

Marijuana was legal for 86 million years. That is 650,000 times longer that the BEN's been around.

Mr J Funk

(name and address supplied)