A schoolboy has launched a stinging critique of Government MP Delaey Robinson for suggesting cannabis should be legalised.

Berkeley student Frankco Harris, 16, said Mr. Robinson was giving out the wrong message to teenagers.

He said: "Just because it is widespread is not a good enough reason to decriminalise it.

"He said the higher echelons of society use it and the economy would be harmed if everyone who used it was arrested.

"But a drug is a drug regardless, whether the community uses it the fact is that it will affect you somehow.

"Whether he likes it or not it will have repercussions if you keep using it.

"You lose 250,000 brain cells through just one joint - they won't grow back.

"Cannabis has a lot of harmful chemicals but it is THC which wipes out the brain cells. Tobacco doesn't have that. It may not be visible right away.

"His whole outlook is wrong.

"He said around 70 percent of Bermuda College students had used the drug by the time they went there - he's saying because they have experimented that's okay? "If you give teenagers an inch they will take a mile, if you let them have cannabis it will lead to more trouble.

"You would get teenagers bringing drugs to school more frequently.

"This is the wrong message to give us teenagers.'' "He said small quantities should be decriminalised but dealing should still be illegal.

"But how would that work? Somebody needs to have an excess of the stuff in order to sell it.

"Either you would have more smuggling or you would turn this island into another Amsterdam and open yourselves up to a whole load of other problems -tourism is already in decline.

"It's just bringing more trouble.'' Frankco, who is the President of his school's PRIDE branch (Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education) said he had been taught cannabis was a gateway drug which led to abuse of harder drugs.

He said: "They point you to using heroin and cocaine.''