Irish and overseas addiction doctors rebut Cannabis Risk Alliance letter & call for drug decriminalisation

The recent Cannabis Risk Alliance letter, which spoke of a "one-sided discussion about cannabis" and "Ireland being led down the path of cannabis legalisation" has been strongly rebutted by a group of eighteen addiction specialists from Ireland and overseas. Among them is the Dublin-based Dr. Garrett McGovern who also addresses the subject in the current issue of Hot Press.

In the open letter released today, they stress that, "Education is vital but we need to learn how to talk to young people about the effects of drugs and explore why they take drugs rather than continuing to preach the message of 'Just Say No'."
They go on to "urge the Government to decriminalise all drug possession for personal use and adopt a health-led, rather than criminal justice, approach to this problem."
It's a timely and important counterbalance to the new wave of Reefer Madness that has crept into the drugs debate in Ireland in recent weeks.

Here's the text of the letter and signatories in full: