DRUGS ACT IS MAKING THE PROBLEM WORSE

SIR - In his heavy-handed attack on the five MEPs who voiced their concern
about the Misuse of Drugs Act, Peter Coad (letter, June 21) suggested that
anyone who shares their concerns either has an "ideological agenda", is
"prejudiced and ill-informed", or is seeking to "justify their own past
illegal indulgences".

Mr Coad cites numerous reports to prove that cannabis is a dangerous drug,
assuming that is the end of the matter. But it is only the start of it.

Of course cannabis and other illegal drugs are dangerous, if consumed in
quantity and for any length of time. Users become addicted and this pushes
them into a life of crime.

The real question, however, is how does the Misuse of Drugs Act help the
situation? It clearly does not prevent drug use, because 400,000 under- 16s
are regular users.

The vast majority of them do not go on to take "harder" drugs, encounter
significant health problems or commit any more crime than non-users. For
the minority who do become addicts, the Act makes it harder for them to get
the healthcare they need.

The drug problem is a health problem, and you cannot solve health problems
using the criminal justice system. The Misuse of Drugs Act has compounded
this by creating a massive crime wave. By reforming it, resources could be
diverted from the criminal justice system, where they produce no benefits,
to treatment facilities and prevention initiatives.

The alternative is that we sit back and watch drug use and crime levels
increase over the next 30 years, as they have since 1971, in the smug
knowledge that we are occupying the moral high ground.

Lord Mancroft

Chairman Drug & Alcohol Foundation

London SW1