At the moment, many addicts and alcoholics come up in the courts on a variety of charges. Many of them commit acts which rightly earn them prison sentences. Yet the law has no way of helping them do anything about their drug-using or drinking.

Some states in the USA have arrangements whereby drunken drivers have to attend a course on alcohol and alcoholism. They learn about drinking and about the symptoms of alcoholism. Those among them who have a drink problem are encouraged to get help. Judges can also sentence an offender to a compulsory course of, say, thirty Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or to a specific course of rehabilitation in a treatment centre, as an alternative to a fine or prison.

None of these sentencing alternatives exists in Britain. Magistrates can and often do recommend Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous from the bench, but it remains their personal suggestion.

Nearly all prisons in Britain have regular meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous are just beginning to hold their meetings in prison too. If you are a probation officer, prison visitor or magistrate, it is imperative to suggest these meetings to the offender.

We believe it would be money well spent to set up programmes for addicts and alcoholics within the prison system. As it is, too many of these ill people receive no help at all, and come out of prison only to go back on drugs and drink. Soon they commit more crimes to support their habit. Society is the loser when their illness goes untreated.

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Anti-Smoking