A far greater harm
From Alexandra Gibbs
Sir: Ross Clark (‘Reefer madness’, 28 January) disagrees with ‘the libertarian view that cannabis is ... a harmless bit of fun’. Many of us libertarians take the view that all drugs per se have their harms but that it is prohibition which is a far greater harm to both individuals and society as a whole. This is because prohibition provides criminals with one of their most lucrative and empowering lines of business.
Prohibition also removes the control and regulation of potentially dangerous substances from the hands of government and cedes them to criminals. Were drugs to be placed under strict government control, the existing criminal anarchy would be replaced with a regulated and safe market.
Prohibition means lack of health warnings and advice for users. Prohibition also ensures a disproportionately large margin over production costs with an attendant high street price that pushes problem users into criminal activity. Many libertarians agree that cannabis is not a harmless bit of fun, just as they would agree that alcohol or tobacco is not harmless. What they disagree with is prohibition as a means of protecting people; it is doing the opposite.
Alexandra Gibbs London SW3
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