Dangerous drug

WITH the likelihood of increasing demands on fewer police officers in the years to come, there are many who will support the Chief Constable of Humberside's call to decriminalise the personal use of cannabis.

After all, what is the point of wasting officers' valuable time on minor drug users when they could be tracking down big-time dealers? What Tim Hollis should remember, however, is that even occasional use of cannabis can be highly dangerous and can cause severe mental-health problems.

This is not an argument for police targeting minor offenders at the expense of major criminals, but it is a reason for officers to use their discretion and common sense when it comes to cannabis users and for them not to be stifled by overly prescriptive central-government rulings on decriminalisation.