THE recent letter from Andy Newman tells us to treat drug addicts as victims and not criminals.

Your court reports suggest judges already do so and blame old ladies for wickedly putting temptation in their way by carrying pension money in handbags.

He correctly states that many ways have been tried and have mostly failed to cure addicts. Limited success in stopping a few dealers and less in catching smugglers results in cheap and easy supply.

Continuing operations by US governments to persuade the countries where most drugs are grown to search out and destroy crops and change to food production also fail to stop them.

I have a lot of sympathy with helpless parents but education must have failed because there is no one who has not had the dangers of addiction explained at many stages in school and media.

Those who then experiment with drugs must be seen in the same light as drivers who travel the wrong way down a motorway or play with guns to see what happens.

Sentence heroin addicts to community service in Afghanistan from where 85 per cent of this evil drug comes.

The real victims suffering here at home could enjoy renewed freedom of movement without fear of being mugged.

Addicts could learn new basic survival skills, returning eventually with new insights into the world and themselves.

K RATCLIFFE

Swindon