Letter: Tackling the consequences of drug abuse now
I am currently working on a campaign against the consequences of illegal drugs in our community.
Most crime now has a connection with drugs, whether that is individuals needing their next ‘fix’ or organised gangs who then profit by their sales and escalate the problem.
I recognise that drug use comes from a suffering society with capitalism at its root – people see the future as a hopeless one, with no chance of having the goods we are being offered by the media except by going into debt or taking them.
However, the criminal results of drug abuse need to be sorted now as people are hurt physically as well as by theft, people are afraid on the streets, and the relatives of drug users suffer the loss of the person they knew.
What has spurred me into demanding action was my partner recently arriving home and telling me how she had been verbally abused by someone under the influence of drugs and she feared for her own safety. This should not be happening.
The cost of drug use is incredible, to those robbed, those hurt, those affected, the costs to the NHS.
A high profile debate leading to solutions is needed now, people talk incessantly about the ‘small boats’ but I have never suffered at the hands of an asylum seeker.
I am in conversation in the area I live, Holme Hall, to hopefully help make a start in making it a safer place for my loved ones.
Similarly people in other areas should press for action and then our town could be a safer place.
Hopefully politicians (councillors, MPs) will read this and add their weight to developing an effective drugs policy.
Adrian Rimington
Chesterfield