is timely.

Sen. Smith stated in the Senate that any law which was not respected needed to be re-examined. There is no question that the community is divided over the advisability of cannabis use and Bermuda's ability to combat it.

Sen. Smith stopped short of saying cannabis should be legalised or decriminalised and there will be many who will oppose that idea. But it is still worth having an open and honest debate on the issue.

It may be, as Government backbencher Delaey Robinson said some months ago, that Bermuda will never completely stop the importation of drugs; without prevention programmes as well, there is no way that the Island will end the drugs trade.

But the fact that a law is not respected by some in the community does not mean that the law is wrong or useless. Nor does the possibility that a law may affect more blacks than whites make it wrong or discriminatory, unless the law is deliberately being applied to some while others are allowed to flout it.

If there is a consensus in the community that cannabis is bad for people, and there is medical evidence to show that is the case, then the substance should continue to be illegal.

There are those who argue that there is no danger whatsoever from cannabis.

Others will say that cannabis, taken in moderation, is not a threat.

Inevitably in this debate, the issue of alcohol is raised. Taken in moderation, alcohol is relatively harmless. But it is still addictive and highly destructive to the drinker and those around the drinker when it is abused. Countless Bermudians can attest to that.

It may be hypocritical to argue that cannabis should be illegal when alcohol is not, but it does not necessarily follow that cannabis should be legal because alcohol is; two wrongs do not make a right.

But legalising cannabis opens the spectre of other drugs being legalised in time; Sen. Smith noted that some people see cocaine as a recreational drug in what seems to be a case of wilful ignorance.

Still, there are valid arguments in favour of decriminalising possession of cannabis. Sending people to prison for possession of very small amounts of the drug is the equivalent of smashing a nut with a sledgehammer.

The question is what alternative form of sentencing should take its place.

Rehabilitation for users -- as opposed to dealers -- of cannabis or harder drugs is the right approach, although it has to be accepted that some people cannot -- or will not -- be rehabilitated. Any law changes would have to take failure to stop using drugs into account.

There are no simple answers to this question. There are strong arguments in favour of keeping cannabis illegal, but there are also alternative sentencing and prevention strategies which need greater support.

A full debate which takes into account all points of view and is based on facts and valid medical research, not assumptions and anecdotal evidence, would do the community good.