Stopping benefits.

[dinger]

I heard on the news the government are going to stop giving benefits to drug addicts to encourage them to go into rehab.I don't believe for a moment this will solve the problem at all .There will be more shop lifting.mugging and crimes of all kinds to fund their habit .Also there are not enough places to be able to cater for the ammount of users. Many of them don't want help if it was offered.What are your views ?

[lily]

I think this is yet another half baked idea behind which lies the aim to save money. It seems in the same league as the idea a few weeks ago which was to evict problem families, with no thought for what would happen to the children. We have cut back on policing especially the Custome & Excise sector, and have not put much resource into drug prevention and rehab. As daft as promoting round the clock drinking and cheap alco pops for youngsters without considering the consequences.

[fife]

As you have said dinger if they do go through with this ruling then it will lead to more crime especially house burgluary's, although having worked during studying at a drug rehabilitation unit i came to realise that you can try and help addicts of all kinds not just drugs but if they don't want help it won't work. These people get that desperate for drugs that most of them would admit they would kill for it. I'm not sure what the solution is until they want help but i am sure that cutting there benefits is definitley not going to work and lily is right it is just another way of the government looking at how they can save money.

[jazzactivist]

I don't agree with it at all, dinger, as it just seems like another short term solution blaming people for their own problems. I have also worked with some people addicted to drugs and only a minority of them were living on benefits. The stereotype of severely drug addicted people who have lost everything in life is only related to a minority. Quite a lot actually hold down jobs and look after their families for as long as possible, but still struggle with their addiction and don't necessarily want to give it up. I agree with the comments here that if people are desperate then they will find other ways to get the money through robbery, prostitution etc. and increase which can't be good for our society. The person has to be at a stage in their life where they want to make good use of rehab, but the major problem for addicts is when they return to society it is so easy to get drawn back into the drug using lifestyle as that is all they have known for a long time, and many communities aren't very welcoming to ex-drug addicts. I think that a much longer term solution is needed, based on dealing with the causes of why people feel the need to take drugs in the first place.

[dinger]

I agree with the above and a classic case in todays paper is of Aimee Winehouse . she has been offered help from a lot of different angles and yet is back on the drugs again .Is it any wonder youngsters try them when it is splashed across the media about these so called stars who even though it is a known fact they were breaking the law they get a slap on the wrist and thats all . e.g Pete Docherty and Kate Moss .I do believe some of it is caused from peer pressure wanting to be the same as others but they all seem to have the idea it is something they can dabble in and stop when they want to . As we know this is'nt the case at all.