LETTERS Drug plug
Sir: Your leader (`Opium and the People', 11 June) was as usual, superb in its refusal to cringe before the received wisdom. There is just one point where I disagree.
It would not 'be a bad idea' to legalise `worse drugs' like heroin and cocaine. More people die from alcohol related problems in the UK than hard drugs. I suspect it is the life-style of drug users (and sellers) that causes offence. Disgust is the correction reaction of civilised people, but our liberties would be at an end if disgust were to underpin harsh — and increasingly expensive — anti-drug policies.
The right way to counter the drug culture is through the old institutions of church, family and school. It is no good for the state to argue that such institutions are of no use here, if the state weakens such institutions by encroachments on their function.
Nevertheless, if the drink-driving and alcohol advertising issues are any guide, the bossy instincts of the populace run deep, so such arguments for 'live and let live' are not likely to impress a wide audience. For those with open minds, can I put in a plug for Illicit Drugs: Myth and Reality by Terence Du Quesne, which can be obtained from the Libertarian Alliance, 1 Russell Chambers, The Piazza, London WC2. This is a good introduction to the liberal case.
Tom Burroughes
Cavendish, Chediston, Halesworth, Suffolk
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