Letter: Our drugs problem

Sir: The Bishop of Edinburgh is the latest in a long line of public figures to have stated the obvious fact that it is absolutely counter- productive to impose a blanket ban on soft drugs such as cannabis ("Our primitive fear of drugs", 17 August).

The evidence from the Dutch social experiment with decriminalisation shows that the attraction of soft drugs is much reduced among adults once the novelty of adolescent experimentation has faded.

The British attitude towards soft drugs also helps foster the phenomenon of drug tourism to many parts of the world which have for centuries incorporated moderate use of cannabis in their culture.

In Goa and many Thai resorts, the sudden influx of (relatively) wealthy drug-seeking tourists has had damaging consequences for the local economies, encouraging the rise of organised crime and institutional corruption.

It is the very fact that soft drugs are illegal in this country that makes them an object of great interest to young people.

C G STEWART

Oxford