Sir, As expected, the Home Office report into drugs and punishment endorsed the opinion of Prof David Nutt, Gordon Brown’s Drugs Czar an opinion for which he was sacked.
That drug illegality causes more harm to society than drug misuse is surely beyond argument but I suspect neither of the main parties will want to be confused by the facts.
Richard Nixon’s “War on Drugs” will continue to wreck South America, fund organised crime and fill US and UK jails.
The report will be binned in spite of humans having used “recreational” drugs for millennia with the dangers almost always being associated with excessive use and poor quality.
On alcohol and tobacco, two of the most destructive, we place legal controls on use and supply while benefiting from tax levies and other drugs should be treated the same way.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
These alarmist claims are just a diversion
Sir, It was with some disappointment that we read your article (November 4) which uncritically reported a tobacco company-funded survey about illicit products sold locally.
Will O’Reilly, the former policeman who carried out the investigation, is not a credible source of information.
He goes around inflating fears about black market sales as part of the industry’s opposition to health measures like standardised tobacco packaging and increased tobacco taxes.
He is being paid to create and promote these claims by one of the most deceitful and harmful industries on Earth.
The tobacco industry claims that illicit tobacco is increasing in volume and will grow with the introduction of plain packaging unfounded claims which were also made in Australia ahead of their adopting standardised tobacco packaging but did not happen.
Illicit tobacco is a serious and legitimate concern and is best addressed through education and enforcement activities based on legitimate research, not through alarmist Big Tobacco claims and misinformation.
Sheila Duffy. Chief Executive, ASH Scotland, Edinburgh.
They regret the passing of the empire
Sir, I fully endorse the comments and observations of Captain McRae regarding the old British Empire. I first visited South Africa early in 1964 and for the past 50 years have travelled around the world calling at many of the old colonies, British and otherwise.
In fact, for the last 20 years I have worked solely in and around Africa, the past 10 years of which I have been shore-based and met a very varied cross- section of the local population. In the old British colonies I must say that the greater proportion regret the passing of the empire, not so in the countries which were colonised by the French and Portuguese etc.
I returned last month from seven weeks in Ghana and that country is a credit to the old colonial powers and the governments that have followed and furthered its development.
I must point out to Mr Tolland that Nelson Mandela was not against the British Empire, or any other colonial power, his activities were aimed at bringing an end to apartheid.
(Capt) Rick E Parcell. 20 Seagate, Arbroath.
In no way were climate models a ‘failure’
Sir, Mr Cross’s latest diatribe against the IPCC is a mix of distortion of climate science and flat out fantasy.
Firstly, the predictions of the IPCC are not simply based on “computer models” as Mr Cross implies. Climate scientists base their predictions of the impact of a two degree rise in surface temperatures on past periods of warming.
If temperatures do rise then they will be the same as the early Pliocene epoch when the sea levels were 25 metres higher than they are today.
Computer model predictions of the impact of climate change on the environment have, if anything, underestimated the damage now being seen. In no way have they “failed”.
Mr Cross then claims global warming “stopped” in 1998 aside from the fact that 2014 is the hottest year on record, this story is yet another invention. The basis of this is a discredited report in the Daily Mail and was a distortion of work done by the Met Office.
Alan Hinnrichs. 2 Gillespie Terrace, Dundee.
Discrimination against veterans did happen
Sir, I was delighted to hear that Thomas Docherty MP was raising a bill in the Commons to prevent discrimination against members of the armed forces. I wrote to Mr Docherty 14 months ago regarding the discrimination against British nuclear veterans by the Ministry of Defence.
He failed to answer.
Is he prepared to ask the defence secretary why he refuses to admit my release medical certificate from the army was “forged”? Why are some altered documents being presented to the courts as evidence regarding the levels of radiation received?
In my letter to Mr Docherty I stated that as I was a service nuclear veteran I was denied the legal aid freely given to terrorists and criminals. That is discrimination.
Service nuclear veterans are denied a cytogenetic blood analysis which would show their level of genetic damage. This blood analysis is freely given to civilian nuclear workers. That is discrimination.
During the nuclear tests civilian AWRE Workers wore protective clothing and respirators. These were denied to servicemen. That is discrimination.
It is alleged that all radiation records for civilian AWRE Workers are intact but service radiation records have mysteriously disappeared. That is discrimination.
Is Mr Docherty referring to all discrimination within the armed forces or only that committed by civilians not involved with the armed forces?
Dave Whyte. 73 Blackcraigs, Kirkcaldy.
More powers would be a big mistake
Sir, The motivation of those who voted against a separate Scotland, was the preservation of the United Kingdom.
Many of those talked into the idea of separation by the Yes campaign, probably did not realise the extent of powers already handed to the Scottish parliament since its creation in 1999.
These include agriculture, fisheries, education, environment, health, social services, housing, law and order, tourism, economic development, local government, sport, arts and transport.
The Yes campaign promoted these as areas where Westminster was somehow holding Scotland back, when the reality is that they have already been mismanaged for 15 years by 129 MSPs of a mainly left wing tendency.
To add taxation to the list, as is now being proposed, would be a huge mistake. The parliament has already shown that it would not be up to it.
Malcolm Parkin. 15 Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.