LOTS of people are talking about cannabis and whether it should be legalised or not. How does society make up its mind?

Is Ann Widdecombe right on zero tolerance on drugs, and also those who support her position? Well I suppose that depends on the sort of society you want.

I always thought drugs were for people who were ill. Cannabis, I understand, can help those with illnesses, such as Multiple Sclerosis and similar illnesses, and research into cannabis for those reasons must be a good thing.

But for it to be legal for all society, I must agree with Ann Widdecombe and others -- the answer must be NO.

Some argue that people will get drugs anyway. That's a defeatist attitude. If you say yes to legalising cannabis, what will be the next thing to be legalised, and the next, and the next, until society disintegrates?

It starts with cannabis, until somebody comes along and wants to go further and then other laws are challenged.

If it was legal for all society to take cannabis, would you want a surgeon to operate on you if they had used cannabis because it was legal? Or nurses looking after children in intensive care? Or maybe doctors who have had a long night using cannabis to keep going or using it before they came to work? People who make life or death decisions should be thinking clearly.

The airline pilot who may want to use cannabis -- would be flying at 30,000 feet before he left the ground! Bus, train and taxi drivers -- all these people deal with the general public daily, and need to be clear-headed to avoid accidents, not high on cannabis.

What about our politicians? Would you want them making decisions about nuclear weapons or going to war if they were under the influence of cannabis? I don't think so.

No, some people misuse substances like cannabis due to a lack of moral fibre, but others use it to cope with life. There has got to be something wrong with a society where people feel the need to use cannabis to cope.

Shouldn't we look at what the problems are, and cure them, not take the easy way out by legalising substances like cannabis?

Grenville Moore

Iris Avenue

Harper Green

Farnworth