Pain no excuse to break law (From Lancashire Telegraph)

you really haven't got a clue have you?

What people do in privacy to their own bodies is no one elses business.

If I wish to take a herb to make me feel better and out of pain, which I do! That should be a choice of mine! Christine may you never have to choose if a family friend is in pain, as you need a bit more education, so that you many never say something as insensitive as that again! Don't be paranoid about cannabis use, it is very safe, safer than the drug caffeine! google Dr J Henningfield and caffeine, this may aid you in being more aware of the real dangers!

Hi there Christine, let me first remind you of a quote by a great man who goes by the name of Dr Martin Luther King Jr:

“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”

The cannabis laws are just that, an "unjust law". People are dying, suffering and sitting in jail as a direct consequence of this outdated and draconian law. The Misuse of Drugs Act classification system is meant to be based on the current scientific evidence that is out there at the time, well the current scientific evidence states that cannabis can treat well over a 100 ailments, better so than the current pharmaceutical methods and without the nasty side effects that come with said medication. There are peer-reviewed double-blind tests, blind tests and animal double-blind tests that back up this claim. Cannabis has been used safely by man to make medicine since at least 2600 years ago, in all this time not one single death has been attributed to cannabis. Our government needs to stop spreading this anti-cannabis drivel that they do, maybe then people such as yourself wont come out with these half cocked comments like the ones you have wrote in this letter.

"It’s a known fact that cannabis leads to paranoia. Who is going to pay for medicines to treat that problem?"

Well this comment really does show how little you know on the topic of cannabis. From time to time someone who smokes cannabis might suffer from a bout of paranoia, but this paranoia most likely stems from the fear of being caught smoking cannabis (this paranoia is in part because of the social stigma attributed to cannabis by the uneducated public). No one will have to pay for any medicine to treat a cannabis users occasional paranoia, cannabis is broken down quickly in the body, the feelings you experience from cannabis are short lived, lasting around one to two hours, after this period any form of joy or paranoia ceases, therefore no treatment/medication would be needed at all. So this part of your argument holds no water at all.

"Arthritis is not an excuse to take illegal drugs."

Well actually it is. Do you know of a company called GW Pharmaceuticals Christine? This company has created a medicine called Sativex, it is being used to treat various ailments such as Multiple Sclerosis. This medicine has recently been in the press and is about to be trialled with cancer patients in Manchester. Now have a guess at what this medicine is made of Christine...yep you've got it, it's made from cannabis. The cannabinoids in cannabis have been proven to slow or kill cancerous cells (yes that's right were on our way to a cure for cancer), but going on your above quote apparently cancer isn't a good enough reason to take illegal drugs even though this illegal drug is the potential cure for cancer, would that be right?

I urge you to look up medicinal cannabis and educate yourself on the matter, because you clearly don't have a clue at the moment. Read: The Report. Cannabis:The Facts, Human Rights And The Law, that is a good start point of education.

"All criminal activity should attract a sentence, thus encouraging a community of law-abiding citizens."

What you need to remember here is that there are an estimated 6 million cannabis users in the UK, these men and women are - albeit except for breaking the cannabis law - law abiding citizens who hold down jobs, families and lead productive lives.

Where there is no victim, there is no crime.

Did you know that alcohol and tobacco kills hundreds of thousands of people a year in the UK, well cannabis doesn't and cannabis can be used to treat the diseases and addiction patterns that are connected with these LEGAL drugs. Quite ironic really that a drug that can cure and treat ailments is illegal, yet drugs that have a host of health implications and do kill are legal, don't you think Christine?

I look forward to your response.