AFTER recent publicity about a schoolboy suspended from Joseph Rowntree School and Home Secretary Charles Clarke's announcement that he has asked for a review of the classification of cannabis, I had to write to express my disgust at the Government's hypocrisy and continued support through its policies of a criminal black market.

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance does not suggest cannabis is free from harm; few things in life are.

But if a substance, or an activity carries a risk of harm to health we do not make it illegal, we give advice on safety to control and regulate it.

This is exactly what we need to do with cannabis.

I am not condoning this lad's naive behaviour but let's be realistic, drug dealers don't ask for proof of age and we would be burying our heads in the sand if we thought this isn't going on.

An open and inclusive debate is what's needed because we can see clearly that prohibition is collapsing around us.

The risks associated with cannabis and mental health are exceptionally small and affect a very small percentage of users. There are at least six million people who use cannabis in the UK.

Cannabis legalisation would have far ranging benefits for jobs, the environment, and the economy.

Cannabis is one of the most uniquely useful plants known to man.

There are 50,000 products which can be made from cannabis hemp, including bio-degradable plastic and fuel.

I call on York's MP Hugh Bayley to hold a public debate to explain why cannabis remains illegal despite the fact that 80 per cent of people polled in Britain favoured de-criminalisation.

Let's have this debate.

Steve Clements,

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance,

Church Street, York.

Updated: 09:46 Monday, March 28, 2005