Drug remarks 'insult', Lady Wootton says By CHRIS DUNKLEY Lady Wootton of Abinger last night counter-attacked after Mr. Callaghan, Honie Secrexary, had told the Commons that he felt her committee on drugs had been over- influenced by the " pro-pot lobby ".. She said some of Mr. Callaghan's remarks were " an- insult" to the distinguished members of her committee. "We shall have to consider our posi- tion, not so much with regard to me--that does not really matter- but certainly from the point of view of my colleagues." Mr Callaghan had said his im- pression was that ' those who were in favour of legalizing 'pot' were pushing the rest of the members. of the committee back all the time. so that eventtally they got these rather remarkable conclusions that it would be wrong to legalize it, but the penalties should be re- duced ". Lady Wootton said that the appearance of a " pro-pot lobby " advertisement in The Times in 1967 had had no effect on the opinions formed-by the committee. It had served only to highlight the fact that there was increasing public interest in the cannabis question. Mr. Callaghan's suggestion that the committee's conclusions had been " remarkable" and the implication that it was illogical to call for reduced penalties while endorsing the illegality of the drug were " again nonsense ". she said. There was nothing in the Icast illogical. Ladv Wootton insisted. in calling for pcnalties very much less than those in cases of hard drugs. "Dr. Dale Cameron, the chairman of the World Health Organization's. expeit committee on drugs, has recently said pie- cisely the same thing. Last week he was quoted as saying that it was reasonable to have penalties that were commensurate with the nature of the offence and the degree of hazard. " He'went on to say that can- nabis was less dangerous than heroin and-I quote-' that to apply identical penalties offends logic'. He also said that to talk of penalties for cannabis in term, of years and years in prison was nonsense." Drug remarks 'insult', Lady Wootton says