WE'VE often considered the argument some people make for legalising cannabis - that using the drug's no worse than smoking, that police time would be freed up by decriminalising it.

And we've rehearsed our response just as often. While there's a strong case for making it a prescription drug to address pain-relief, the benefits of legalising it generally don't outweigh the potential danger of opening another drugs floodgate.

The trigger for revisiting the issue today is the news that 10 students have been suspended or expelled from the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, over the use of cannabis.

Let's not think, though, that what's happened at RGS should be part of that wide, continuing debate over legalisation.

The ages of the students concerned demand that it has no part in that discussion.

On the evidence available to us, the school has taken the only responsible action it could.

The honest fact is that the temptation to use cannabis, to pressure others into doing the same exists regardless of divisions.

The students of RGS, or any school like it, are just as vulnerable as a comprehensive serving a suburb with the lowest social or economic standing.

The episode has undoubtedly brought embarrassment upon the school, just as it has provided some around the Faithful City with an opportunity to point and snigger. To dwell on either would miss the point.

The message headmaster Walter Jones has sent to parents and pupils alike is that anyone who thinks drugs are a positive or desirable part of recreational life should think again.

"We're working closely with the parents of the eight suspended boys to ensure there's no repetition, nor desire to repeat, this type of conduct," he has told us.

Amid it all - apart from contemplating what happens now for the two expelled boys - that's the most important thing.