IT WOULD BE A CRIME TO GO SOFT ON HARD DRUGS

The government is right to ignore those who want to downgrade certain drugs
and slash jail terms for hardcore users.

Most people think jail terms sgould be increased since those hooked on drugs
do not give a damn where they get the money to feed their habit. They commit
burglary and beat up old folk for a few pounds.

Ask the people who have been affected by this vile trade - the parents who
have lost a child.

And suggesting that anyone caught with Class B drugs should only be fined
pounds 1000 is beyond belief.

Where do they think an addict will get the money from if not more crime? Or
are taxpayers expected to foot the bill. Terry Palmer, Barnsley, Yorks

Tony Blair is right to take a stand against the proposed relaxation in drugs
laws.

Whether they are Class A or B drugs they are dangerous.

And as soon as dealers think we are going soft they will exploit youngsters
even more than today. Drugs are common. What we need are stricter laws to
stop the situation getting worse.

Miss B Tyler, Godstone, Surrey

How disgusting that a Police Foundation think-tank should advocate the
legalisation of drugs.

They praised Dutch cannabis cafes where the drug is freely sold and smoked.
Could it be that, as the police seem incapable of catching dealers, they
wish to make their job easier by ignoring the proven dangers of the drug
culture?

Philip Allison, Leigh, Lancs

We should be advocating a zero tolerance approach to all drug offences, be
it possession or supplying, not making things easier for offenders.

Sheila Seymour, Doncaster, Yorks

The authors of the Police Foundation report who recommended that Ecstasy
should no longer be defined as a Class A drug ought to meet the families of
those who have died as a result of taking it.

L Evans, Walsall, West Midlands

The Police Foundation report recommends cutting jail sentences for
possession of hard drugs and effectively decriminilising cannabis and
Ecstasy by not jailing offenders. Is this so they can reduce the crime rate
without the need for police work? Burglary and car theft are also
widespread, perhaps if we decriminilise these too, it won't matter that
police numbers are falling.

Ryan Gregory, Leicester

I agree cannabis should be decriminilised but let's leave Ecstasy as a Class
A drug, because its been shown to kill. Anyone caught with Ecstasy should be
prosecuted. It will probably save their life.

Andrew Telford, Newcastle upon Tyne

We don't have enough cash to treat the casualties of legal drugs like
tobacco and alcohol. How will we treat double the victims if cannabis and
Ecstasy are downgraded?

Nick Charles, Southall, Middx

Have any of the families of the "responsible people" involved in the report
on declassifying illegal drugs been touched by death, squalor, crime, AIDS
or anything else connected with drugs? They should not be downgraded - the
penalties should be increased.

Gerry Frobisher, Meliden, Denbighshire

I wonder how many people think that because they smoked a cannabis joint at
university and it did them no harm, it's all right to inflict it on the rest
of the country?

For once Labour have done well to reject this advice.

They only need to keep Clause 28, reduce the tax on petrol, reject the euro,
support family values with some integrity, put more police on the street,
shorten hospital waiting lists and allow teachers some authority and they
might get my vote.

Mike Ellis, Ipswich, Suffolk