Peg, thank you for your kind and compassionate response to my posting. If you read my later one, above, you will hopefully understand that my earlier ones were born of the agony my family and I have been subjected to for the past few years, and the almost-unbearable rage I feel against anyone and everyone who is involved in the sale and use of illegal drugs.

I'm so utterly sick and tired of having virtually every second of my life dominated by drugs, talk of drugs (because I've found that druggies have little else to talk about) and the dregs of humanity who benefit from the trade in drugs, that I can hardly be bothered to get involved in a discussion with you or anyone else about whether cannabis is addictive (and as a former Youth Worker I HAVE read a very great deal of literature in this regard, and dealt with many young users, and I've come to the conclusion that, whilst perhaps not physically addictive, there is very strong evidence that it can and does lead to psychological dependency). You say in your post that it's 'regularly enjoyed by many, many intelligent, educated and productive members of society' (as if that piece of red-herring BS makes it OK!) - doesn't the fact that they feel the need to use it regularly suggest just ever-so-slightly that there may be a small degree of psychological dependency there? There are a lot of intelligent, educated alcoholics and heroin addicts out there too - intelligence and education is not an effective barrier against dependency.

BTW Dianavan - if you're still there, he moved on to amphetamines when cannabis no longer gave him the effect, he couldn't get the high any more (his explanation, not mine) and then to Heroin.

I didn't say that use of cannabis NECESSARILY leads on to hard drugs, I said it can - not the same thing. I'm not brainwashed by the latest bit of convenient P-C 'Research' gobbledygook, I live the reality. The evidence of what it can, and often does, lead to lived in my house - a living ghostly apparition who twice had to be resuscitated when he OD'd, couldn't work, couldn't hold a sensible conversation, had no interest in anything other than where his next bag was coming from, seldom washed, lay on his bed and shook, sweated, screamed in agony, vomited, and would probably have shit himself if he ever ate enough to produce any shit, or wasn't so constipated that he couldn't shit even if he wanted to. With regard to cannabis being a 'gateway' drug, you can deny and bury your head in the sand all you like - it won't alter the reality one jot. Very, very few people start with the hard stuff, they start with that harmless fun stuff, cannabis.

In another thread recently (about smoking in public I think) Harvey Andrews made a very valid point that, smokers and users of other drugs alike will use any conceivable excuse as a means of justifying what they do. Read your post again and think about it - maybe you need to ask yourself some searching questions (you and a lot of others).

Don't waste your time replying, I know I can't persuade a closed mind. I'm out of here for good.