Sir, - On Monday, October 6th, you reported the view of Dr Seaghan Ua Conchubhair, honorary secretary of the Association of GPs: "It has long been recognised that cannabis leads to addiction and stronger drugs." On the contrary, it is generally accepted that cannabis is not physically harmful but that its illegal status means that it is frequently sold alongside and consumed in conjunction with other illegal drugs.
Dr Ua Conchubhair goes on: "People say that it relieves pain among people with cancer and other diseases which conventional medicine cannot deal with. I think that is a big lie." He disregards the testimony of hundreds if not thousands of patients who have found cannabis most effective in combating the nausea associated with chemotherapy, not to mention those suffering from multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, migraine, arthritis and AIDS.
I suggest that Dr Ua Conchubhair read Marijuana, The Forbidden Medicine by Lester Grinspoon and James Bakalar (Yale University Press) and peruse the evidence collected by the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, which has received hundreds of letters testifying that cannabis is an effective medicine.
To disregard the stories of people who are suffering from serious and intractable illness is callous in the extreme, and indicative of the high-handed attitude of a medical profession in thrall to the pharmaceutical industry and determined to protect its keys to the medicine cabinet.
We can't expect doctors to accept the patient's right to self-medication; nor can the drug companies countenance losing business to a commonplace but uniquely therapeutic herb. - Yours, etc.,
Russell Cronin,
Stockwell Road, London, SW9 9QA.