I WOULD never belittle any potential harm that cannabis may have on a small number of people, but it would surely pale into insignificance to the harm that will be caused to a teenage girl by the hysterical, misinformed reactions of the head teacher and police at Tadcaster Grammar School (March 25).

They churned out the same old, tired drug war rhetoric, which will have little effect on the use of cannabis but may have a devastating effect on the lives of hundreds of teenagers in Yorkshire, arrested and questioned by police, excluded from school, and told that their mates grassed on them.

Brilliant! Another drug war victory! Or a clear indication of the damage that our prohibition laws are doing to our society.

Think about it. If cannabis is harmful, then surely teenagers need health advice, maybe counselling, but not to have a wedge driven between them and society.

It isn't a question of if prohibition will end, but when. And how many people will have to suffer this disaster while we wait?

No victim, no crime.

Steve Clements,

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance,

Asquith Avenue,

York.

Updated: 09:18 Tuesday, March 28, 2006