Another step closer to cannabis legalisation in the UK?

[Pat Mustard]

I've spelled out what I think about marijuana elsewhere on this forum, which is that while I've never used it I think it should be legalized at least in this country (USA).  The war on drugs has been a total failure, and people who want to smoke have little trouble getting it.  But mainly I don't think it's as terrible a drug as the government has told us for the past 80 years or so, and it's most likely not the gateway drug we've been told all these years.  Many people enjoy smoking pot but have no desire to try harder drugs.

That being said, I think that harder drugs should remain illegal because they're so much more addictive and dangerous.  Those drugs are also a problem which we're no closer to eliminating with the war on drugs, but I have no easy answers.  

The simple fact is that drug laws have ruined a lot of people's lives just for wanting to smoke a natural native plant which grows in the wild in a lot of places.  I don't think someone should be sent to prison for simple possession of marijuana when we have hardened criminals getting lighter sentence for worse crimes.

Well considering the two most dangerous drugs are the legal alcohol and fags, I don't know why the so called hard drugs should be kept verboten (especially considering that there was no i hreoin problem in Britain until the UK tory government of the late 70s made it impossible for doctors to perscribe it to the small number of then addicts, most of whom were addicted due to its use as a pain medication in WW2), without some attempt at regulation of their manufacture.