Letter: Drop the futile 'war on drugs'

Sir: The ridiculously out-dated 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act is patently not stopping the great British public from consuming ever greater quantities by criminalising their use ("Trainspotting: the reality", 13 February).

The new Home Office report demonstrates that government policy is giving pounds 600m per year to violent criminal gangs in London alone every year. I propose the Government legalise cannabis, tax it, and use the money to subsidise proper education and harm-reduction campaigns against hard drugs.

Though the public has accepted that drug-taking is as commonplace as, and safer than, many legal activities, the Government continues in its futile War On Drugs, denying any debate - even on the subject of medicinal cannabis.

JON THOMPSON

Macclesfield, Cheshire