THE argument for cannabis legalisation can no longer be ignored. In News by Maria Williams (Sunday 16th March), Pippa Bartolotti, from the Wales Green party, is reported as saying that no one has yet died from using cannabis, in fact the health benefits of cannabis in the treatment of epilepsy and cancer are already well documented. This is not true.

In January this year a mother of three from Dorset died as a result of cannabis poisoning, an inquest has found. A post-mortem examination found she died as a result of cannabis toxicity.

The British Lung Foundation says smoking three joints a day can cause the same damage to the airways as a pack of 20 cigarettes and therefore cause deaths.

The drug can cause cancer, lung disease and abnormalities associated with serious mental illness. Users are up to six times more likely to develop schizophrenia.

According to Brake, in the UK 18 per cent of people killed in road crashes have traces of illegal drugs in their blood, with cannabis the most common. Pippa Bartolotti is reckless in promoting cannabis to vulnerable people as some sort of wonder drug . My son has epilepsy and I absolutely do not wish him to be misled or encouraged to use cannabis and certainly not by someone who is not qualified to do so, in the hope of political gain.

Ann Greagsby, Bromley Drive, Caerau