Letters: Drug classifications

Drug classifications have a profound impact on the young

Sir: Well done Gordon Brown for announcing that the Government is going to re-examine the issue of cannabis reclassification (report, 19 July). Former Home Secretaries were misguided in pandering to the police, justice services and prison service in reclassifying cannabis.

What the public needs to learn from those of us working in the drugs education and rehabilitation fields is that changing the classification sent out a false message, especially to children and young people. It reinforced for them the idea that cannabis must be harmless. Every day I hear young people say that they believe it to be safe because it's natural, it's a plant, so it cannot harm you.

I would appeal to anyone who believes cannabis is harmless to remember that what fully grown adults choose to do in private is one thing, but that changes in the law will have serious implications for our children. I have worked with hundreds of young people who regularly self-medicate on all sorts of drugs, legal and illegal. They are doing this at a time when their bodies are not fully grown physically, their emotional development is not complete and their brains are not yet fully wired up. So let's get it right this time Gordon.

MAX CRUICKSHANK

YOUTH WORK CONSULTANT & HEALTH ISSUES TRAINER, HAMILTON, SOUTH LANARKSHIRE

Sir: Having recently been diagnosed, in my mid-40s, with multiple sclerosis, I am frustrated that the Government is yet again reviewing the classification of cannabis.

I never did much care for government intervention in personal decisions which have no adverse consequences for anyone else, but now I find myself actively considering taking direct action to improve my quality of life. I don't want to wait for the development of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals when a perfectly acceptable herbal remedy exists.

Considering the proportion of MPs, including the Home Secretary, who, when pressed, concede to having partaken of the odd joint, I find it sickeningly hypocritical that they would seek to deny others the choice. There is only one appropriate change: legalisation.

CHRISTOPHER MCNAMARA

BECKENHAM, KENT

Hamas vital if peace talks are to succeed

Sir: Your report "Blair confronts history of failure... ", 19 July) states that Mr Blair can hardly ignore Gaza, however much pressure he will be under to ignore Hamas. However, it is imperative that he stop ignoring both and instead engage in an inclusive political process that can resolve the current crisis and forge a renewed drive for peace.

Mr Blair's new job as Middle East Envoy will be to help rebuild the Palestinian institutions that have been brought to the brink of collapse after a year and a half of international sanctions. Meanwhile, the continuing isolation and effective imprisonment of 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip - 87 per cent of whom are already living below the poverty line - is nothing short of disastrous.

Failure to end the policy of isolation will continue the cycle of increasing poverty and extremism in Gaza rather than bringing it to an end. A "West Bank-first" approach to international aid and diplomacy that abandons Gaza's 1.5 million people to poverty and insecurity is short-sighted and destined to fail.

If Mr Blair is to learn from the "history of failure" in the Middle East, the first lesson should be that refusal to engage with all elements of the Palestinian political leadership only closes doors to negotiations and creates a political stalemate. Without dialogue there will be no progress.

RAY HASAN

HEAD OF ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST POLICY, CHRISTIAN AID, LONDON SE1

Sir: The exclusion of the de facto and de jure government of Gaza by the US and therefore the rest of the parties to the latest "initiative" on Palestine means that it will be a disaster and, indeed, deserves to be.

As John F Kennedy said so many years ago: "We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient, that we are only 6 per cent of the world's population, that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 per cent of mankind, that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem."

PETER DOWNEY

BATH

Sir: Both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples need real solutions, and are looking for proposals of genuine substance. Their leaderships are in turmoil, so inspiring, effective and determined intervention is the tonic they are looking for. Blair can either have the remains of his legacy and reputation shredded in the quicksands of indecision and hesitancy, or reincarnate himself as a true world statesman.

CHRIS DOYLE

DIRECTOR, CAABU (COUNCIL FOR ARAB-BRITISH UNDERSTANDING) LONDON EC4

Sir: The more I think about George W Bush's decision to reject the lawfully elected government of Hamas in favour of the unelected Fatah, the more I begin to wish that we had all done something similar after the 2000 US presidential elections.

STEVE BRICKLE

BIARRITZ, FRANCE

The refugees who should be leaders

Sir: Many countries in the world are ruled by despotic and brutal regimes ("Britain 'must stop deportations to Congo' ", 13 July). They are lands where it is terrible to exist rather than a joy to live, and one fully understands why many are desperate to flee such places for the likes of England's green and pleasant land.

My neighbour is from Zimbabwe; he is educated, humorous and hard-working - without trying he is a paragon of the best of British. But our gain is Zimbabwe's loss. A loss multiplied many fold as most of the refugees over here are the educated people who would normally be politically and socially active, the very class from which leaders are drawn.

If the regime of Robert Mugabe is to be replaced by something more humane, then there needs to be a viable opposition locally. By accepting large numbers of asylum-seekers we unintentionally play into the hands of the Mugabes of this world by castrating the opposition of its potential leadership and activists. As such, when Mugabe does go, expect his to replacement to be one of his own evil henchmen.

STEPHEN BROOKER

LUTON

Happy endings for one small bookshop

Sir: Both Terence Blacker and "Magic or madness" in the Business section (18 July) describe vividly the difficulties that local bookshops have in competing with online shops and large chains. My local book shop, right on the high street in Hale village, offers online ordering and a service which easily surpasses that of the likes of Amazon and WH Smith. One orders a book from its website; it is delivered to the shop and one picks it up, paying in the normal way at the till, without postage or fees of any kind - in fact a discount is offered for web purchases. In respect of delivery times, their best effort yet is 14 hours from mouse click to the ring of the till. And of course, the service is backed up by a large and varied shelf stock and knowledgeable employees who know their books and their customers.

There is surely a pattern here which more local retailers, not just of books, could follow.

HENRY LAW

MANCHESTER

Windmills beautiful next to power plants

Sir: I am totally fed up with hearing complaints from people about wind turbines (Letters, 17 July).

As a former city-dweller now living in north Devon, I am somewhat puzzled by the local reaction when it comes to these "frightful windmills", and there is currently a campaign in our local village to protest against another wind farm in our area. The leaflet through our door encourages us to meet to discuss the evils of these "bird-killing, unsightly eyesores".

As I lived in Nottingham for 29 years surrounded by three power stations, I am somewhat bemused by these reactions. Are windmills really as ugly as power stations? Do they belch smoke day and night and cause smog in the summer? Will we have to move away as the smog and fumes are causing our children to develop asthma? I think not.

The world is in a mess and we will kill it if we continue to live as we do. I suggest to people who are against wind turbines that they should try living near a power station and see if they prefer that.

MELANIE SCOTT

SUTCOMBE, DEVON

Carbon offsetting is key to cutting gases

Sir: As your front page "S.O.S." (16 July) demonstrates, climate change is a real and pressing danger. Drastic cuts in carbon emissions are necessary to stabilise climate change, and carbon offsetting has a vital role to play in this. While the first step for any business or individual must be to cut emissions, offsetting allows those who are not obliged to take action to balance out their carbon emissions by helping to finance low-carbon technology projects around the world.

Without this valuable source of income, these projects would not be developed. The contribution they make is measured not only in direct reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, but in the social and economic benefits of reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Furthermore, voluntary offsets go above and beyond existing government policy and international emissions targets, helping to drive international action until the politics catches up.

Standards are critical and the industry is rapidly addressing the issue. The Climate Group's work on the Voluntary Carbon Standard is one example of this, and a credible industry body is being formed to help maintain and develop stringent quality assurance in this sector.

Government regulation and appeals for people to change their behaviour will not be sufficient to achieve the carbon reductions needed at the speed required. That is why carbon offsetting is so key. It allows additional investment in carbon reductions over and above that which Government regulations have achieved, and makes those reductions wherever they can be made fastest and at the lowest cost.

JONATHON PORRITT

FOUNDER, FORUM FOR THE FUTURE DR STEVE HOWARD CEO, THE CLIMATE GROUP, LONDON SE1 7

Don't penalise girl drivers for boys' faults

Sir: It's unfair for the term "young people" to be used so ubiquitously when referring to reckless drivers, when we are actually seeing the consequences in the high road-death rate figures of the reckless behaviour of young males. Girls should not have to pay for the consequences of this fact.

Girls are much safer driving in their own cars than they are waiting at bus stops late at night or being driven home by their boyfriends.

Yes, we need to curb this reckless behaviour in young males; their deaths and the deaths they cause are far too high a price to pay. If it hurts their pride to have to wait longer than girls to have a full driving licence, then so be it.

E CHAMBERS

LONDON NW3

Parliament's priorities

Sir: I notice that our Parliamentarians have decided to suspend George Galloway from the House of Commons for 18 days as a result of some alleged wrongdoing over a charity fund. Are those the same Parliamentarians who, only a few weeks ago, cheered to the rafters the person who took our country to war on false pretences, who, as result, is responsible for countless thousands of deaths, mainly innocent people, and who did nothing about the inadequate equipment provided to our troops. It's a funny old world.

WILLIAM J YOUNG

WINSFORD, CHESHIRE

Who pays for divorce?

Sir: If John Eekelaar is correct (letters, 13 July) when he suggests the best way to get people to marry is for the Government to pay for the wedding, then the will to stay together might be strengthened if the couple are required to return the costs, with interest, to the taxpayer when they divorce.

JO SHAN

ALTRINCHAM, CHESHIRE

Sir: My husband and I were married in a register office. We had two guests to witness the deed and share a bottle afterwards. The marriage has lasted 53 years so far and I cannot remember what modest sum it cost us (Letters, 17 July).

PHYLLIS NYE

BOURNEMOUTH

Lots of room below

Sir: With the need to maximise the use of available land for house building (Letters,13 July) why do we not build downwards instead of upwards as our North American and European neighbours do? With a cellar, the car can be garaged underneath the house, along with the boiler, dog kennel, utility room and store rooms.

This has the added, and not unimportant advantage in a period of climate change, of keeping the house warm in winter and cool in summer. Who would want to live on the top floor of a three-storey house in a warm climate?

C AYLIN

HUNTINGDON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

The price of light

Sir: Dr Lawrence Clark's letter (17 July) makes a compelling case for low-energy bulbs against basic bulbs. However the advantages are absolutely overwhelming when low-energy bulbs can be obtained for 39p rather than the £2 quoted, since they then pay for themselves with less than 24 hours of use.

I urge readers to shop around, as prices for low energy bulbs seem to be tumbling.

MALCOLM MARSTERS

NEW MALDEN, SURREY

Religion and illness

Sir: I have paranoid schizophrenia (Letter, "Are all those who kill for religious reasons paranoid schizophrenics?" 16 July), and whether I have it or not has been decided by mental-health professionals, not by priests, judges or journalists. Presumably the same applied to Robert Torto. Paranoid schizophrenia is not a legal formula, but a disease, and those who have it do not necessarily kill people. It is an interesting question as to the relationship between religion and insanity, but atheists have so far not succeeded in getting them treated as the same thing.

PETER WAGSTAFF

HEBDEN BRIDGE, WEST YORKSHIRE