Star comment: It’s time for action over drug abuse

Paramedics were called almost 300 times to an address in Wolverhampton in the space of a year.

West Midlands Ambulance Service also took 248 calls from a Tipton address, 203 calls from a property in Bilston and 156 from an address in West Bromwich.

The first thing to point out is that the vast majority of these calls did not result in anyone requiring hospital treatment.

This means that most of the frequent users of the service were either treated on site, or did not require any treatment in the first place.

There is no doubt that a number of these calls could have been avoided.

One thing the figures certainly do highlight is the hidden cost of drug abuse across the region.

All around the Black Country there are addresses from which the number of calls to the emergency services is extraordinarily high.

This puts a strain on communities and further stretches the precious resources of the authorities.

The members of our emergency services do a wonderful job, often facing abuse from the very people they are trying to help. They need all the support they can get.

With that in mind, is it not about time we brought in stricter legislation when dealing with drug users and drug abusers?

It is long overdue that our politicians proposed a radical rethink on how we tackle drug-related issues.

Rehabilitation should be made compulsory for drug users.

Those who do not turn up for treatment should be incarcerated until they finish their allotted period of treatment.

Of course, this would mean tackling the horrendous drug problem behind bars.

The fact that drug users’ habits are allowed to fester and develop while they are locked up is a national disgrace.

It is scandalous that drugs are so easy to get hold of in jail.

If Theresa May wants a key policy to prove that she is capable of strong leadership then she could do worse than looking at Britain’s criminal justice system.

The failure of our judiciary to effectively deal with drug related crime is a massive drain on the country.

We need to take a hard line, not look the other way and pretend the problems do not exist.