What is interesting is that Suffolk has been one of the most “successful” areas in stopping both unlicensed raves and clamping down on legal venues associated with rave culture…
so if drugs use is going up; this is surely a big sign that intolerance and prohibition is not just failing but making things worse?
At least on the rave scene theres still a fair bit of peer pressure not to do crack/heroin and to try and self-regulate your drug use …. but this is absent when people are doing drugs in smaller groups and less positive surroundings…
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=IPED14%20Feb%202007%2012%3A54%3A10%3A397
ROCKETING number of drugs offences in Suffolk have been revealed today in figures obtained from the House of Commons.
David Ruffley MP for Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds discovered drug crime has spiralled by nearly 65 per cent over the past five years when he questioned Vernon Coaker MP, parliamentary under-secretary at the Home Office.
In 2001/02 there were 1,292 drug-related offences according to figures from Suffolk Police. In 2005/06 that number had exploded to 2,015.
The latest figure is 40 per cent higher than Cambridgeshire and 10 per cent more Norfolk.
The number of recorded drug offences in Suffolk has now gone up for the eighth year in a row.
Although the method of recording drug offences has changed since 1997, there has still been an increase of 19 per cent in Suffolk drug offences since 2002, when the latest recording standard was introduced.
Mr Ruffley said: “These are some deeply troubling figures and local people in Suffolk deserve to know why we suffer from more drug crime than elsewhere in East Anglia.
“It is clear from the answer the Minister gave me that drug crime is on the rise across the Eastern region.
“I have taken the matter up with the Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary, Alastair McWhirter, and asked for his explanation for these figures and what steps he believes are necessary to clamp down on this apparent drug problem in our county.”
