MORE MONEY FOR FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

The Government will announce today how it plans to spend the extra 217
million allocated in its Comprehensive Spending Review for anti-drug
abuse work.

The proposals were being unveiled by Cabinet "enforcer" Dr Jack
Cunningham, who has overall responsibility in government for the fight
against drugs, and UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator Keith Hellawell.

The Government spent 1.4 billion tackling drug misuse last year.
Spending on measures to prevent drugs abuse will increase by one
quarter by 2002.

The escalation of the drugs culture in recent years has led to demands
for more powers and action from parents, police and youth workers.

In addition to the large amounts of hard drugs such as heroin hitting
the streets, young people are also drawn to so called "soft drugs"
such as cannabis and Ecstasy.

Drug dealing is big business with crime syndicates in Britain and
other parts of the world involved.

Feuding amongst drugs gangs have led to shootings on Britain's streets
and a wall a silence during police inquiries.

Undercover work by customs officers and the intelligence services have
seen a number of arrests this year and large seizures of drugs this
year.

Hundreds of people recently went on the march in a rundown area of
Glasgow after the district was stunned by the death of a 13-year-old
boy who had been supplied with heroin.

There is increasing alarm at the spread of drugs use amongst school
children with fears that users are being targeted at a younger age.

In January, London police celebrated after smashing a gang believed to
be involved in importing most of the country's heroin at the rate of
20 million a week.

Mr Hellawell, the so-called Drugs Tsar, has already launched new
guidelines to the problems of drugs in the workplace and to
schoolchildren.

The court have been given powers to confiscate drug dealers' assets
and for that order to be honoured in more than 50 countries.

All financial institutions in the country are obliged by law to report
any suspicious transaction to the police Economic Crimes Desk in an
effort to stop money laundering from drugs deals.

British motorists were tested for drugs at the roadside for the first
time during a three week trial of detection devices in March.

About 18% of drivers killed in road traffic accidents are found to
have some trace of illegal drugs in their bloodstream.

A three-year study carried out by the Department of Transport shows a
four-fold increase in drug-driving over the last ten years.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry