Amy Winehouse’s death has put drug addiction and rehabilitation back in the spotlight. Her biggest hit, Rehab, tops the charts, but our national approach to, and our policy for treating addicts desperately needs to top the media agenda.
I have firsthand experience of lost teenage years to a life in organised crime, fuelled with drugs and drink. Now aged 68 and with hindsight, my credentials to talk with authority are gold plated.
Addiction pervades our society in unseen ways; boardroom executives have undertaken billion pound decisions either under the influence of mind altering stimulants or outside pressure from organized criminals laundering money. Street addicts rob and attack others to feed their habit. Town centres each weekend resemble battle zones with kids involved in fights, car crashes filling our magistrate’s courts and hospitals. Most of the 200,000 youths spoken to by police each year have drug/alcohol problems.
Firstly, government policy makers don’t accept or understand the true gravity of the issue. They have never implemented new laws with a national programme to deal with the UK drug epidemic. Legalising drugs will simply bring about easier ways to get hooked. Kids will still have to buy their drugs and will steal to do so. Legalising mind altering substances that do harm to our young is rubbish. Why not give them guns, but tell them not to shoot? Hash is as bad as any drug and often leads toclass A use. Shall future generations smoke one, two or three joints before studying for an exam? My life was ruined through drugs, which is why as a criminal, I had no part in that trade. Tunnel into banks – yes, that was okay – but be part of anything that was going to inflict the same pain I lived with on innocent children? No, I would never allow it
