TJ RYDER says it is a "known fact" that people who regularly use cannabis usually go on to harder drugs. As the effects from cannabis are nothing like the effects from LSD, amphetamines, coke, etc, I have never understood this years-old argument of "needing a better high".

I have met hundreds of people who smoke cannabis, and very few who have gone onto harder drug habits. When this is the case, it is usually because they are: a) already involved in the drug scene, and: b) they are easily led by profit-hungry pushers.

With proper legislation this problem could be virtually eliminated, but as long as people continue to demonise a plant which is far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, and which could help thousands of people with illnesses such as MS, fibromyalgia and even some cancers, then cannabis will remain in the hands of criminals, who are the last people who want to see it legalised.

As for the wild theory that people who take drugs "may" be funding the war in Afghanistan, my taxes have been funding this highly dubious war for years now, and I'm not happy about that either.

Marti Barlow, Inverlochty Cottage, Elgin.