Someone I know had a son who was murdered by his girlfriend in 2006.

She (the girlfriend) turned schizophrenic after smoking quantities of cannabis some 10 years ago and has been on regular medication and injections to stabilize her volatile and deluded condition. She stabbed and slashed up her victim inflicting hideous wounds across his face and arms before he died.

I knbow of someone else who also imbibes regularly in cannabis and displays similar delusional, psychotic and irrational behaviour, which has lead him to threaten suicide as he goes around in illogical and irrational circles of ever decreasing reasoning.

I have never seen a tobacco smoker attempt to murder someone else due to the effects of taking tobacco, regardless of what damage he may be doing to himself.

The amount of alcohol someone needs to ingest is, with effect, non-cumulative within the body and whilst many long term physical side-effects may be likely from extreme use, rarely do they involve someone else’s death, unless accompanied by some other action, like driving a motor vehicle.

The evidence of my eyes suggests anyone can rationalize and justify anything, cannabis, speed, ecstasy, heroin, crystal-meth, tobacco or alcohol.

I am a reformed smoker and occasional light drinker. I tried cannabis about 35 years ago when at college and found the only time it had any effect was a very unpleasant delusional experience which I never wanted to experience again.

I get a greater buzz out of being in control of myself than in surrendering my self to the delusions of an alien substance.

The legalization of cannabis would represent a significant abdication of collective responsibility by offering dealers in such substances greater and unfettered opportunity to corrupt and exploit those people who are more easily lead

My question is why does it need to be legalised, it's not hard to find and if you've got half a brain you won't be caught.
What drives the fervour of the pro-cannabis brigade? Why the need to promote?

Col Blimp there are countless lives destroyed by violence induced by alcohol abuse in Australia each year yet alcohol is legal. There are countless lives destroyed through drink drive car accidents, and alcohol is still legal.

Tobacco which has been proven to induce cancer, blindness, limb amputation etc, etc is still legal.

Canabis is a remarkable crop that has been used to manufacture paper, rope, cotton like cloth, oh and yep you can get high.

Australia would do more to care for its environment by growing hemp for paper and cloth than growing rice and timber plantations. Oh hemp has been a commercial crop in coastal NSW in the past that old timers knew as Egyptian cotton. Its medical use to increase appetite, stop diahorrea are well known folk remedies.

'...in control of myself than in surrendering my self to the delusions of an alien substance.'

Nothin alien about it, Col. It's been used by humans much longer than alcohol has existed. In fact it's been found that there are certain recepters in the brain that are only activated by the use of naturally occuring drugs, such as cannibus and psylocibin mushrooms (something else that is illegal for no rational reason). Almost as if we adapted to their consumption a long time ago.

I'm sorry to hear about your friends son. I'd rather not use it too much as a major discussion point, as it seems a little insensitive to invoke this kind of tragedy to further a point of view. But one thing I will say is that it seems to me, while cannibus certainly wouldn't have helped this womans condition, it would not have been the only factor. Someone like that has problems bigger than THC. And I'd like to point out that its mostly the additional chemicals added to the product that are responsible for the triggering of psycosis in a tiny minority of users. As I wrote earlier, legality ensures a much more pure product, and would surely vastly reduce this reaction.

And I would remind you (contrary to your statement of alcohol being relatively safe) that alcohol is responsible for 1000 times as many deaths, and yet remains not only tolerated, but celebrated. The cause of every broken home, every beaten child and wife...it's the number two killer drug in our society, and they have the gaul to advertise it on your television, with your children watching. Drink up! It's ok to drink your drug!

This isn't some wacky theory that hasn't been tried before. Marijuana has been legal in the Netherlands for a very long time, and they have no higher rates of any sort of problem you could care to imagine may happen. It is a perfectly well functioning society (not to mention the tourism it rakes in, for those of you who may care to consider the economics of legalisation).

I think that we should pathologies rather than criminalise the use of marijuana. If you feel that you need it for stress release then what the hell is wrong with you? It is an extreme form of pain management not a recreational devise. Put them in hospital not prison. Drug users are ill.

'Drug users are ill'

Do you drink, vivy? Because that would make you a drug user.

It is drug abusers that are ill, not drug users. It’s a very important distinction that many forget to make - drug abusers are those who give sensible users a bad name. And almost every single Australian is a drug user, be it alcohol, caffeine, paracetamol, whatever.

It's not like you would be forced to have it or be around it if it were legalised. If you don't like it - don't smoke it, but what I'm asking is how can anyone defend a law that so irrationally criminalises an individual’s personal choice? As adults living in a supposedly free country, should we not be able to make our own informed decisions? To those branding me 'leftist', isn't individual liberty a fundamental part of right-wing ideology?

Put it this way: how would you react if alcohol was made illegal? Would you say: “well, it makes sense, it is very bad for you”, or would you be very, very pissed off? People wouldn't stand for it, and people would stand up, and they would fight until they got their beer back. Yet, here we have a drug which is indisputably less dangerous in every way, short term and long term, but illegal from laws dating way back to before a proper understanding of the substance was gained. Today, the idea the pot = evil is so ingrained into societies collective unconsciousness that no amount of evidence to the contrary seems to have any impact. I struggle to think of any other example of law that even comes close to this level of nonsense (apart from the law against psilocybin mushrooms, a drug which is even less harmful than weed).

Ever notice how the drugs that open your natural receptors, expand your perspective and invoke deep philosophical musings are the ones that are against the law? And the ones that are legal are the ones that keep you stupid and do absolutely nothing positive at all? Does that not strike anyone else as slightly odd?