BLAIR PLEDGES NEW DRUGS CRACKDOWN

Tony Blair has pledged to crack down on those who "peddle the misery
of drugs" as he launched a set of new measures.

Drugs were "every parent's nightmare", the prime minister said after
unveiling plans which give tougher sentences for those who deal near
schools.

Those arrested for some offences would face a compulsory drugs test to
get more addicts into treatment, he said.

The Tories said the plans did not go far enough, while the Liberal
Democrats described them as "constructive".

Mr Blair said he would "bear down" on street dealers and organised
crime as he launched the policies alongside his home secretary at a
police station in Slough, Berkshire.

He said: "Every parent's nightmare is that their child gets mixed up
in drugs.

"You can tell them about it and try and be as tough as you can with
them and say how dangerous it is but - especially with teenagers - you
are not always seeing what they are doing, what they are up to, so of
course you really worry about them."

In front of the cameras Mr Blair underwent a mouth-swab drugs test for
cocaine and heroin. The result was negative.

"If you are a drug addict engaged in crime, you will be offered a way
out through treatment and help," he later told a news conference in
the station canteen.

"If you refuse that offer, it will be made more difficult for you at
every stage in the criminal justice system," he said.

One of the government's proposals is to make it an aggravating factor
on sentencing for a dealer to sell drugs near schools or use children
as couriers.

Ministers also intend to stop dealers claiming that the drugs they are
caught with are for their own use.

There will be a presumption where people are found with larger
quantities of drugs that they intend to supply - a far more serious
offence than possession.

'Diverting addicts'

A new target will be set to increase the number of drug offenders
entering treatment in the worst-affected areas, from 1,500 per month
to 1,000 each week by 2008.

The bill is expected to introduce powers to test offenders for crimes
such as theft on arrest rather than when they are charged.

People with a positive test would then be forced to undergo an
assessment by a drug worker.

Tory leader Michael Howard said he wanted a 10-fold increase in the
number of residential drug rehabilitation places to proved "young,
hard drug users" to 50,000 places each year.

For the Lib Dems, Mark Oaten said that the government's proposals were
"constructive" but warned they might "fall by the wayside" before the
next election.

'Drop-out rate'

"The government rightly talks about the need to expand treatment, yet
their own figures for numbers in treatment are misleading," he said.

Mr Howard said the Conservatives would provide the resources in every
local education area for drug testing equipment.

"In 1997 Tony Blair said 'I am determined to tackle the menace of
drugs and the devastating effects they have on our communities,'" he
said.

"He was right. But we've had a lot of talk. Reality has not matched
his rhetoric. Tony Blair has let people down. Conservatives will take
action to get youngsters off drugs."

The Conservatives would restore cannabis as a Class B drug if elected,
the party said.

The head of charity DrugScope said expanding treatment services was
not enough - the drop-out rate for people undergoing compulsory
treatment had to be tackled.