DOCTORS Fleming and Pike are using information from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction to claim that Dutch drug policy leads to some unpalatable consequences (Letters, 17/4).

However, their reading of the available statistical information does not do sufficient justice to the results of our approach.

Most importantly, drug-related deaths in The Netherlands are extremely low when compared with our European partners such as France, German, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

In 1997, 65 people died of drug-related causes in a population of 15.5 million people. In Australia, with a slightly higher population, the corresponding number is more than 650.

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