CASH BOOST FOR DRUGS WAR

Drug users who commit offences will be sentenced to undergo treatment for
their addiction under new measures - funded by a IEP217m increase in
Government cash - to be announced by Jack Cunningham.

The budget increase - enough to build about four new hospitals - is the
largest amount ever set aside to deal with the drug problem, said a
Government source.

Dr Cunningham, who has taken over responsibility for the Government's
anti-drugs strategy, will this week set out the change of direction.

"Last year, two-thirds of the money spent on drug misuse was spent on those
who already have been sucked into drugs and crime. The new strategy will
change the emphasis so that spending on stopping the problem from happening
will rise by 25 per cent by 2002," said a Government source.

The majority of the extra funding, earmarked for the anti-drugs campaign by
the Chancellor in the Comprehensive Spending Review, will be spent in
improving the Prison Service strategy to help to reduce re-offending.

Under the new arrangements, there will be pilot schemes to ensure follow-up
drug treatment, and the forthcoming Crime and Disorder Act will urge courts
to force offenders to take treatment within the terms of community service
orders, instead of sending them to prison where they are likely to be
exposed to more illegal drugs.

"These measures get tough on drug-related offenders by getting them into
treatment and ensuring they stay there," said the source. "They will be
rigorously enforced on people who have committed crimes such as shoplifting
and burglary to fund their drug habit."

Dr Cunningham will warn that drugs destroy lives and ravage communities.
"They are an active breeding ground for crime and can pull families and
communities apart. Enough is enough," he will say. The money will be
directed at health treatment, rehabilitation and education.

Government research has shown that more than half of young people under 25
use illegal drugs and that almost half of all recorded crime is drugs
related in some way. There are estimates of 100,000 to 200,000 drug addicts
in the UK.

Ministers have rejected calls for legalisation of cannabis as a way of
tackling drug-related crime. The new measures will reinforce the
Government's message that prohibition of drugs, coupled with tough policing,
is still seen as the best way to combat the problem.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst