Writing a letter to my MP

[Peter]

I keep trying to write a letter to my MP about my gripes with the current drugs legislation, but I can never stay focussed on it for long enough or intensely enough to get anywhere with it. 

[purposefulinsanity]

Have you done a google search for political groups who have the same gripes you do?  They sometimes have example letters to send to your MP that you could use for inspiration. 

[Peter]

This one I wrote myself.  Suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Dear Jim Murphy

I laud the recent ban on smoking in enclosed public places, but I feel it doesn't go nearly far enough.  Tobacco, which contains the potent and highly addictive narcotic nicotine, is the leading cause of death among all intoxicating substances and the principle avoidable cause of premature deaths in the UK, killing 106,000 people every year in the UK according to the UK Department of Health [1].  Judging by the standards applied to other intoxicating substances, many of which it is a grave offence to possess, produce or sell, yet which cause far fewer deaths, I can see no logical reason why tobacco should not be legislated as a class A drug.  For comparison, MDMA, a class A drug, causes 10-30 deaths each year, out of an estimated 500,000 regular users in the UK [2], about two thirds of which occur when MDMA is used in conjunction with other drugs [2], and cannabis, a class C drug, has not yet been shown to have a casual link to increased mortality in users.

I also propose that cannabis should be reinstated as a class B drug, since it serves as a gateway to tobacco use, as tobacco is often mixed with cannabis to improve it's combustion properties when smoked.  I urge you to work to increase public awareness of this danger inherent to cannabis use, since there are many reports of individuals becoming nicotine addicts after starting out on cannabis.

As for alcohol, I find it baffling that it's still being sold across the country when it's been well established that alcohol is a leading cause of violent crime, and there were 8,386 alcohol-related deaths in 2005 [3].  Aside from the slow degradation and eventual failure of the liver which is an established outcome of long-term alcoholism, alcohol also has the frightening ability to kill with just one drink, as the first drink lowers the inhibitions and self-control of the alcohol user, thus leading to the consumption of additional drinks and eventual death through accident or acute poisoning, or even the death of an innocent bystander through alcohol-induced aggression.  Indeed, several times when travelling through Glasgow on the bus at night, as the clubs have been emptying, I've witnessed intoxicated alcohol-users head-butt the window of the bus I was riding in, and I've witnessed several fights among alcohol users, one of which resulted in one individual being taken away in an ambulance.  With alcohol, there's no such thing as a safe dose, and I would like to see life sentences given to dealers who supply this menace to otherwise law-abiding citizens.

Hopefully you'll be able to draw attention to these two glaring oversights in the current drugs legislation.

Your sincerely,
Peter MacKenzie

[1] UK Department of Health, http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/Tobacco/index.htm
[2] http://www.nimr.mrc.ac.uk/MillHillEssays/2002/drugs.htm
[3]National Statistics Online, http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1091

[McGiver]

now we need to debate.

[Peter]

now we need to debate.

Are you going to start it?

[McGiver]

now we need to debate.

Are you going to start it?

no.

[Peter]

now we need to debate.

Are you going to start it?

no.

Why not?

[Peter]

Minor edit.

Dear Jim Murphy

I laud the recent ban on smoking in enclosed public places, but I feel it doesn't go nearly far enough.  Tobacco, which contains the potent and highly addictive narcotic nicotine, is the leading cause of death among all intoxicating substances and the principle avoidable cause of premature deaths in the UK, killing 106,000 people every year in the UK according to the UK Department of Health [1].  Judging by the standards applied to other intoxicating substances, many of which it is a grave offence to possess, produce or sell, yet which cause far fewer deaths, I can see no logical reason why tobacco should not be legislated as a class A drug.  For comparison, MDMA, a class A drug, causes 10-30 deaths each year, out of an estimated 500,000 regular users in the UK [2], about two thirds of which occur when MDMA is used in conjunction with other drugs [2], and cannabis, a class C drug, has not yet been shown to have a casual link to increased mortality in users.

I also propose that cannabis should be reinstated as a class B drug, since it serves as a gateway to tobacco use, as tobacco is often mixed with cannabis to improve it's combustion properties when smoked.  I urge you to work to increase public awareness of this danger inherent to cannabis use, since there are many reports of individuals becoming nicotine addicts after starting out on cannabis.

As for alcohol, I find it baffling that it's still being sold across the country when it's been well established that alcohol is a leading cause of violent crime, with the perpetrator being reported by the victim to have been under the influence of alcohol in 40% of all violent incidents [3], and there were 8,386 alcohol-related deaths in 2005 [4].  Aside from the slow degradation and eventual failure of the liver which is an established outcome of long-term alcoholism, alcohol also has the frightening ability to kill with just one drink, as the first drink lowers the inhibitions and self-control of the alcohol user, thus leading to the consumption of additional drinks and eventual death through accident or acute poisoning, or even the death of an innocent bystander through alcohol-induced aggression.  Indeed, several times when travelling through Glasgow on the bus at night, as the clubs have been emptying, I've witnessed intoxicated alcohol-users head-butt the window of the bus I was riding in, and I've witnessed several fights among alcohol users, one of which resulted in one individual being taken away in an ambulance.  With alcohol, there's no such thing as a safe dose, and I would like to see life sentences given to dealers who supply this menace to otherwise law-abiding citizens.

Hopefully you'll be able to draw attention to these two glaring oversights in the current drugs legislation, and protect the public from the evidently great dangers of alcohol and tobacco.

Your sincerely,
Peter MacKenzie

[1] UK Department of Health, http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/Tobacco/index.htm
[2] National Institute for Medical Research; Drugs and addiction, ecstasy and cannabis, http://www.nimr.mrc.ac.uk/MillHillEssays/2002/drugs.htm
[3] Home Office, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/alcohol-related-crime/
[4] British Criminal Survey, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/rdsolr3503.pdf

[Eclair]

Peter, I think the advice about finding out if others/groups feel the same about these issues is the way to go.
Unfortunately, I know what happens to a lot of these letters, they will get some nong to write you a letter back saying thanks for your suggestion, blah blah.

There's only pull in numbers and they think they will lose a lot of votes on an issue.
Send the letter for sure, but don't kill yourself thinking they will send you a reply that has been as well thought out as your letter.

[RobertN]

Thats a very good letter, Peter. I personally don't agree with all your proposals, but your concerns are very valid.

I work in a political office and if your MP is as good as the one I work for, you should receive a reply within a week, two weeks maximum.

However, a lot depends on the personal views of your MP, so he may not actually agree with what you are saying. You might like to look up the guy on the internet and find out more about his views.

Or alternatively, you could do as others have suggested and look up other interest groups that share your concerns. What happens where I work is we often get a whole load of letters or a postcard petition all sent in the same time from a particular group of people. E.g. our last big one was about Trident, and it was organised by Cambridge Stop The War. Hundreds of people sent in letters, and the MP had to deal with it as an urgent priority.

[Litigious]

There is nothing wrong with the letter, but probably with the recipient of it. You need to have thousands of other people supporting your letter to have the slightest hope of achieving anything with it. Alas. 

[Peter]

This is my MP: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2078122.stm

He has since been notable for his work in Eastwood: holding hundreds of constituency surgeries, spearheading an anti-drugs campaign and even sending Christmas cards to thousands of his constituents.

[Peter]

Thats a very good letter, Peter. I personally don't agree with all your proposals, but your concerns are very valid.

I work in a political office and if your MP is as good as the one I work for, you should receive a reply within a week, two weeks maximum.

However, a lot depends on the personal views of your MP, so he may not actually agree with what you are saying. You might like to look up the guy on the internet and find out more about his views.

Or alternatively, you could do as others have suggested and look up other interest groups that share your concerns. What happens where I work is we often get a whole load of letters or a postcard petition all sent in the same time from a particular group of people. E.g. our last big one was about Trident, and it was organised by Cambridge Stop The War. Hundreds of people sent in letters, and the MP had to deal with it as an urgent priority.

What work do you do?  And are written letters treated preferentially to emails?

[Litigious]

A "snail mail" is definitely better than an email. Write on your computer but print it out and sign it with your own hand writing.

[Eclair]

Thats a very good letter, Peter. I personally don't agree with all your proposals, but your concerns are very valid.

I work in a political office and if your MP is as good as the one I work for, you should receive a reply within a week, two weeks maximum.

However, a lot depends on the personal views of your MP, so he may not actually agree with what you are saying. You might like to look up the guy on the internet and find out more about his views.

Or alternatively, you could do as others have suggested and look up other interest groups that share your concerns. What happens where I work is we often get a whole load of letters or a postcard petition all sent in the same time from a particular group of people. E.g. our last big one was about Trident, and it was organised by Cambridge Stop The War. Hundreds of people sent in letters, and the MP had to deal with it as an urgent priority.

What work do you do?  And are written letters treated preferentially to emails?

Typically, in my country MP's have set response times regardless of the way the correspondence is received - does he have a website, most do...it may give you more insight into his views...

As suggested, definitely do your research to see what his 'soft spot' is to pitch for...