Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2014
Source: Yorkshire Post (UK)
Copyright: 2014 Johnston Press New Media
Contact: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/contactus.aspx
Website: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2239

SOCIETY'S SCOURGE

Drugs the Common Denominator

THE NHS is not the only organisation facing difficult decisions on 
funding. The same applies to the police with Sheffield-born Bernard 
Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police's commissioner, warning that 
public safety will be at risk unless radical measures are taken to 
deal with cuts.

Yet the challenges facing the NHS and the police are linked by one 
common denominator  drugs. Misuse remains one of the biggest drains 
on the public purse and this scourge on society diverts vital 
resources away from treating the elderly, or making sure that 
vulnerable senior citizens remain safe in their home.

It is an issue which must not be left on the political back-burner. 
The status quo is not an option. And the same applies to so-called 
'legal highs' after Yorkshire's two largest police forces reported a 
25-fold increase in offences allied to those chemical substances not 
covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

However, the police appear to be powerless to close down those shops 
which persist in selling substances which can be as dangerous as 
Class A drugs. This is wrong - there should be nothing 'legal' about 
those chemical concoctions designed to produce similar effects to 
cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy - and closing this loophole must be a 
political priority in 2015.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom