Dr. Susan Finnerty:

I take the Chairman's point that cannabis can be associated with serious mental illness but people with serious mental illness may go on to self-medicate using cannabis or similar drugs. In making a decision to decriminalise cannabis, one would have to look at the evidence very carefully and weigh up the risks on a population base. Certainly on an individual basis, in my past life, I saw people who had major difficulties because of cannabis use. It needs to be thought about very carefully.