A man who has argued for the legalisation of cannabis said yesterday he would rather his son used cannabis than alcohol. Mr Tim Murphy of the department of law at University College Cork said the war against drugs was "in the final stages of a failed social experiment". The supply and demand for drugs had risen despite spending on anti-drug laws, he said.
"I have children myself. I would prefer my son to take cannabis rather than alcohol, he said. "I find it a much more beneficial sub stance." It was "unethical for us to continue with this policy and the use of the criminal law in this way", he said.
Anti-legalisation campaigner Dr Michael ffrench-O'Carroll said he could not accept that young people took drugs "just because it is illegal". Most patients he treated who used cannabis were regular users, he said. "Cannabis is the breadand-butter of drug abuse as far as drug users are concerned," he said.
Vincent Doherty, of the South Inner City Drugs Task Force, said communities were "outraged" with suggestions that drugs like heroin should be legalised.
"The dangerous subtext with decriminalisation is to say that perhaps these communities can't be saved, and perhaps they're not worth saving," he added.