Thanks Johnny, I understand your reasoning much better and go along with some of it. But Little Hawk is surely right to say that people are affected in different ways, and if only for that reason I remain resistant to a blanket prohibition (which often fails to achieve much anyway, in terms of protecting the vulnerable). But McGrath has put some good arguments too, and I have no trouble accepting that if pot were available over the counter like tobacco, the most obvious link with hard drugs would immediately be severed.

The argument about denying all the pot-heads in the world to save a single life has a certain resonance ("He who saves a wingle life saves the world entire" is how the Talmud puts it, I think) but in the end it leaves me uneasy.

On all sides I see society being pushed towards ever greater fear of what seem to me to be quite reasonable risks. (For instance a mood of something close to hysteria surrounds sex crimes against children, or at least it does in the UK. It is fuelled by our disgraceful newspapers, and it fails to recognise that the incidence of such crime has changed little over several generations. The result is that even on traffic-safe routes, many children no longer have the daily pleasure of meandering their own way to school and back.)

For better or worse, life is a fragile. Life is a risk. We should celebrate the fact that our kids, on average, live 70 years and more, despite all the horrific risks that the tabloids keep throwing in our faces. So let's keep a sense of proportion. There are parts of Africa where all are dead before they're 30, with few exceptions.

By the way, I have also had (and continue to have) experience of trying to steer youngsters clear of drug dependency of any sort, but in the voluntary sector rather than as a professional. In fairness to Johnny I should admit that some of those I've worked with in this field - probably a majority - think as he does and would want the supplying of pot to remain illegal. But I've never met anyone who would pretend that either way is perfect.