9 Linden Road

Great Ayton
North Yorkshire
TS9 6AN
Rishi Sunak MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
9th September 2015

Dear Mr Sunak,
I am writing about the upcoming parliamentary debate scheduled for Monday
12th October concerning cannabis and whether it should be legalised or decriminalised in the
U.K. I realise that in all likelihood your views differ from mine significantly; however, I feel
compelled to write this letter urging you to take a view of the issue that is unsullied by
prejudice and outdated dogma.
Firstly, I would direct you to the International Centre for Science and Drug Policy
website (icsdp.org/cannabis_claims), which is an organisation of scientists who are dedicated
to formulating effective drug policy based on the available scientific evidence. They put
forward a case that is far better researched and argued than I can provide in this letter. They
refute a number of myths that are unfortunately prevalent: that cannabis acts as a gateway to
worse drugs; that there is a causal relation between cannabis and serious mental disorders;
that legalisation will dramatically increase availability of the drug, and many others.
It strikes me as bizarre that a drug that does not particularly make people violent or
otherwise criminal (I realise there will be exceptions, but as a general rule) is illegal. Whereas
alcohol, which is not only legal but incessantly advertised on television and other media, is
responsible for untold amounts of misery and conflict all across the land. Take a walk around
the centre of any large town on a Saturday night and you will see my point.
I am not denying that taking cannabis may be physically harmful. In some forms it is
(smoking it) and in some forms it isnt (ingesting it, vapourising it). Nevertheless, I believe
that informed individuals of a sound mind have the right to do what they like to their own
bodies, as long as this does not impinge on the rights of others.
There is also the simple fact that the law does not put people off! I have never met
someone (and I very much doubt you have) who has said or indicated anything along the
lines of, I would like to smoke it but I wont because its illegal. All it serves to do is
criminalise millions of non-violent people, the vast majority of whom are upstanding
members of society. Furthermore, criminalisation ensures an income to people who may well
be engaged in other more serious and possibly violent crimes.
All this being said, I do not think legalisation per se is the answer. Rather, I would
like to see decriminalisation whereby growing small amounts for personal use is legal. A
cottage industry would have the benefit of leaving the drug out of the hands of large
corporations who will inevitably seek to maximise their profits by pushing it onto as many

people as they can. It will help keep the drug out of young hands after all, how can a child
grow cannabis without their parents knowing? It will help police by allowing them to pursue
more important matters indeed I would refer you to County Durham Police Force who have
put into place a police remarkably similar to what I am proposing.
Look to parts of America and Europe: the ground is slowly but inexorably shifting to
more equitable drug policies. Drug prohibition simply does not work.
I hope you consider the arguments I have put forward and I hope you attend the
debate in Parliament I will certainly be following it with great interest.

Yours Sincerely,

Alexander Clarke