I'M GLAD to see that both in the United States and in Jamaica, the opposition to ganja seems to be softening up a bit.

In the U.S. they now seem to be seriously examining the virtues of ganja as a benevolent drug. Here in Jamaica no less a person than Trevor Munroe has proposed that the Government should appoint a commission to examine thoroughly the subject.

I know, of course, that even if there were full agreement on the benevolent aspects of ganja, it would not lead to its full legalisation. That should have been done years ago and I hope you will pardon me for mentioning that as far back as the 1960s, I had been advocating its legalisation and pointing out that its suppression would bring about evils far in excess of any of the evils claimed by its opponents.

I wish Trevor Munroe the best of luck in his endeavours.

A BRAVE MAN

A photograph in The Gleaner of Ambassador Dudley Thompson revived some memories for me. I suppose that people today would chiefly recall him as being a politician who buttered up Fidel Castro and the communists, at the behest of Michael Manley, during the 1970s.

In spite of that activity, which I thought was reprehensible, I've always been very fond of the man I have always called Uncle Dudley. I would prefer that people recognise him as a very brave man. During World War II, he enlisted in the RAF and volunteered as the tail-gunner in bombers. To be the tail-gunner in a bomber was quite the most dangerous task in the air war for when bombers were attacked by fighter planes it was nearly always the tail-gunner who got shot first.

As I have said, Uncle Dudley was the bravest of men and I'm very glad that he was able to come out of it without being killed.

ON GULLIBLE PEOPLE

Yet another financial scandal has burst upon us, this time concerning a company called VCI General Insurance Company and its two top people, Mr. and Mrs. Therol Voche.

The Voches make a handsome couple, but, alas, they seemed to have been singularly unhandsome with money.

Gordon Brandon, the judicial manager appointed to disentangle the affairs of VCI, is trying to find out where $236 million has gone. He said that he is pursuing a lawsuit to try to recover this money, but that it would need at least until the end of June to determine how much of it was recoverable, if any. Mr. Brandon also said that thousands of policyholders and third party claimants have been affected by the collapse of VCI.

What bugs me about this case is that the Voches seemed to have sprung into being as financiers without much in the way of warning and apparently without much in the way of financial background.

Admittedly, I'm not in the swing of things, but I had never heard of the Voches until very recently. How then did it come about that thousands of people became involved with VCI? During all the long period of our financial woes I have been constantly amazed at the gullibility of the Jamaica public.

This gullibility began with a vengeance when people began to put their money into the Century National Bank when it was quite obvious that to put money into Don Crawford's hand was to live dangerously. Since then, banks and other institutions that attracted millions from Jamaican investors have gone bust one after the other and one is bound to wonder why people ever put their money into these institutions in the first place. I am no financier and I have nothing much in the way of money, but I would never have put a penny into any of them.

Especially in the case of VCI, this seems to indicate a quite inexplicable gullibility, and in this case there will, it seems, be no question of any bailout by FINSAC.

I have no doubt that we shall soon all be hearing heartbreaking stories of sundry widows and elderly people who have lost their savings. But it seems to me that if people are so gullible they deserve to lose their money. It is all very well to talk of the wickedness of some of these failed institutions, but their wickedness was made possible only because people were stupid enough to trust them with their money. And not only stupid enough but greedy too, for some of these institutions offered returns or interest at a level which should have alerted any sensible investor to the fact that something not very kosher was going on.

If Jamaican investors continue to be so careless with their money, they should not expect or deserve any bailout.

A RELIGIOUS TALE

One day in the garden of Eden, Eve tells God that in spite of all the nice things in the garden she is lonely and sick to death of apples.

"In that case, Eve," said God, "I'll create a man for you."

"What's a man, Lord?"

The Lord replied: "This man will be a flawed creature. But he will be bigger and faster and more muscular than you, and he will be really good at fighting and kicking a ball about. Still, he will be somebody for you to talk to and you'll find him pretty good in the sack."

"Sounds great," said Eve.

"Yes he'll be alright," said the Lord. "He will be better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick. But you can have him on one condition."

"What's that condition, Lord?"

"You'll have to let him believe that I made him first."