Reflections of an addict
Sir: According to Professor Plumb (26 May), most adults suffer from a 'semantic blockage in their thinking about drugs. Yet what semantic blockage leads him to class tea, coffee and tobacco with hashish, marijuana, Lso, heroin or even alcohol? He calls for 'a scientific appraisal,' but what scien- tist that he knows (there are some at Cambridge he could consult) would classify tea, coffee and tobacco under the same heading as the others?
There might be a case for the legalisation of other drugs than alcohol, but there is no evidence of 'scientific appraisal' in the professor's allega- tion that resistance to such a change is attributable to vested interests.
As usual, Professor Plumb is carried away by his views on social problems about which he appears incapable of objectivity. He should stick to history; he knows something about that.
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