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Apart from the untold misery caused by illegal drugs to addicts, their families and communities, these pernicious substances are also responsible for death and destruction on the roads.
Driving requires full concentration, so the growing proportion who get behind the wheel while high is an urgent issue.
As the Mail reveals today, police chiefs say the menace of drug-driving is, for the first time since it became an offence in 2015, a bigger problem than drink-driving.
When the inaugural drink-drive campaign aired on British TV nearly 60 years ago, taking to the road after a few pints was almost acceptable. Now it’s a social taboo.
Yet increasingly motorists – especially the young – will happily drive after using cannabis, cocaine or hallucinogens.
(Stock Image) police chiefs say the menace of drug-driving is, for the first time since it became an offence in 2015, a bigger problem than drink-driving
Ministers and chief constables have vowed repeatedly to tackle this scourge. Where, though, has their tough talk led?
After six years of soaring prosecutions, drug-drive cases plunged by a third last year to just 17,835. So why?
Shortages in police healthcare staff mean the drugs may have left a suspect’s system before a blood sample can be taken.
Charges often can’t be brought within the six-month legal deadline due to delays with labs processing tests, so victims are denied justice.
Meanwhile, the exorbitant cost of blood tests can deter officers from using them. And too many forces have waved the white flag in the fight against narcotics, emboldening more people to use them.
Politicians and the police must deploy all tools necessary to tackle this scourge.
Anybody who is selfish and stupid enough to drive while on mind-bending drugs displays a reckless indifference not only to their own safety, but also that of others. They must face the full force of the law.
Action, not words
It is to Rishi Sunak’s enormous credit that he has steadied the ship of state after the misguided coup against Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’s ill-fated interlude.
Yes, the Tories trail Labour in the polls. But as Dominic Sandbrook argues powerfully, there is still a narrow path to victory in the next election.
As PM, Mr Sunak has had significant successes. Now he must strain every sinew to turn more of his words into action.
It is to Rishi Sunak’s enormous credit that he has steadied the ship of state after the misguided coup against Boris Johnson
He says he’s ‘unequivocal’ about bringing down immigration, but it is soaring.
He believes murderers should face their victims in court – yet he’s delaying measures to bring in this sensible step.
We trust Mr Sunak will stick to his word. But he must beware the danger that voters begin to doubt he means what he says.
A mother’s choice?
For some time now, the Government’s childcare policy has clearly been shaped around a belief that the vast majority of mothers want to go back to work.
But an analysis reveals almost half – some 3million – would spend more time with their children if they could afford to do so.
It seems cockeyed that ministers focus on pressuring mothers to take jobs, while the state pays others to look after their children.
If the Tories really are the party of the family, they should take practical steps – including changes to the tax system – to recognise the huge contribution stay-at-home mothers make to social wellbeing and the happiness of the next generation.
Ignorance is said to be the root of misfortune, but not for Gary Lineker.
Comparing our democratically elected government’s small boats crackdown to Germany under the Nazis – an outburst as fatuous as it was offensive – has earned the football pundit a human rights award from Amnesty International for refugee advocacy.
Sadly, this will only embolden the self-important booby to return to his pulpit – as more migrants drown in the Channel.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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