March 5, 2013Dear Sir,Perhaps I can address some of the points of view Thomas Mahoney raises in his Letter to the Editor in today’s Royal Gazette, although I suspect this might be futile. Mr Mahoney seems to ‘cherry pick’ which studies he chooses to believe; ie, there have been many studies that have shown the smoking of cannabis can be harmful. His denial of these facts does not show an unbiased mind.Mr Mahoney seems to want to be free to do whatever he wants, in private, since he is (I presume) an adult. Surely this is to argue that we are all islands; (he writes ‘ … even though one’s action affects no one other than himself, it is somehow illegal’), that what is done in privacy does not have reverberations beyond that privacy and the act, and will never effect anyone else. This is simply not true.This is true though; what we do in private helps to form our character as much as what we do in public and perhaps more.“The soul is dyed the colour of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become.” — Heraclitus, Philosopher and Author. 535-475BC (approximately).It seems to me that our laws are made to protect people, animals and property against wrongdoing and or harm from other people. Some of these laws are to protect ourselves against ourselves; in other words, against our own stupidity, ignorance, gullibility, weak mindedness or other reasons. (An example of one of these laws; we must wear crash helmets when riding a motorised bike). If I understand Mahoney’s arguments correctly, if our actions can only harm ourselves, then there should be no law against it.I am reminded of the case in Germany not long ago when two people where brought into court because although they were consenting adults and wished to do what they wanted to do in private, it was against the law. You see, one man had consented to let another man cut off portions of his body, cook and eat them. If Mahoney is suggesting there should not be a law against this, then we are done with this discussion and all I can say is have a nice life and bon apetit.MARK EMMERSONPembroke