Pubdate:Mon, 07 June 1999 Source: Independent, The (UK) Copyright: 1999 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. Contact: 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/ Section: Letters to the Editor Author: P J Coppard, Chair, Barnsley Drug Action Team DRUGS TSAR PRAISED Sir: I was astonished by the criticisms of Keith Hellawell in "This man is paid pounds 106,000 a year to stop Britain's youth taking drugs. Is he worth it?" (report, 26 May). Keith Hellawell is the calm, determined voice of reality and common sense in an over-hyped and hysterical area of public policy. He is saying that prison does not work but treatment does; that if you go to hospital with a broken leg you get immediate treatment but if you go with heroin addiction you have to wait six months or longer for help, and that cannot be right; that the police should concentrate on the low-key disruption of visible drug markets. These are tough messages for the agencies concerned to swallow. Keith Hellawell has fashioned an anti-drug policy which might just work. No national super-hero can solve the drugs problem single-handed. To do so requires support and commitment of the statutory agencies at local level. P J Coppard, Chair, Barnsley Drug Action Team, South Yorkshire - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea