'FLAWED' SOLUTION TO DRUG CRIME

Sir,
Francis Wilkinson, the former Chief Constable of Gwent Police
(2nd opinion, November 8), raises the superficially attractive
argument that drug-related crime would be reduced or eliminated by the
legalisation and regulation of controlled drugs.

As a criminal defence lawyer I recognise that the problem of
drug-linked crime (letter, November 5) is very serious. At least 60
per cent of the matters I deal with have some connection with drugs,
ranging from offences of possession and supply to addiction-induced
crimes such as theft and burglary.

However, I believe that any suggestion that legalisation of drugs will
solve the problem is flawed in that it does not take into account
enough the viciously addictive nature of drugs, especially heroin. If
drugs were legalised I suspect that a significant number of people who
do not take drugs would experiment with them and become addicted. Huge
resources would then have to be invested in rehabilitating those addicts.

It is also my experience that drug addicts often suffer from feelings
of low self-esteem and this problem would not be alleviated by the
legalisation of drugs.

The current drugs policy in Britain may not be tackling effectively
the huge problem of drug-related crime, but I believe the answer lies
in ploughing more resources into rehabilitation programmes, both in
prison and in the community.

Yours faithfully,
ANDREW J. HOBSON
44 York Road,
Swindon SN1 2LE.

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Sir,
I wonder if Francis Wilkinson is prepared to put up with the
social consequences of legalisation? I have seen US studies indicating
that legalising cocaine would increase its use by five times.

Legalisation would no doubt lower prices, and studies with crack
cocaine show that as price reduces, violent crime increases.

To make a comparison with the US prohibition of alcohol in the
Thirties is unhelpful. America was a "dry" country in a "wet" world
and there was no international moral consensus against alcohol use, as
there is with drugs.

Given the health and social consequences of narcotic drug use, the
present policy is right: the culture of drug-taking must be changed
(as has occurred with smoking tobacco and drink-driving); we need to
invest in massive education programmes for those under ten years; we
need to continue firm enforcement against dealers and pushers; and we
need to provide escape routes to treatment for those addicted.

Yours etc,
MACKENZIE OF FRAMWELLGATE
(National President, Police Superintendents'
Association of England and Wales, 1995-98)
House of Lords

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Sir,
At last, an article from someone at the cutting edge of the
"drugs war" admitting that the war has been lost in that tackling the
problem through the criminal law has failed and that other methods of
dealing with the drug problem are appropriate.

Is there any prospect of government listening to the voice of
experience? I doubt it, but live in hope. Perhaps the first step
should be the abdication of the Government's "drugs czar".

Yours faithfully,

ANTHONY TIBBER
22 Holmwood Gardens, N3 3NS
atibber@aol.com