THE explosion in the use of crack cocaine in York translates into a rising tide of human misery.

Hard drugs create enormous suffering. As York police commander Supt Steve Barlow acknowledges, the addicts themselves are often victims. Then there are the hundreds of innocent victims, the families whose homes and cars are broken into as addicts steal to finance their next fix.

House burglaries in York last month were more than double the number reported in February 2001: further proof of the direct link between drug abuse and crime.

Supt Barlow plans to curb the drugs menace with increased patrols and more targeting of offenders. He will need our help if he is to bring the dealers to justice.

Unhappily, York's problem is Britain's problem. Our society has been poisoned by drug abuse. It costs the country £18 billion a year, or £11,000 per heroin or crack addict, according to York University research. The social costs are far higher.

Like all its recent predecessors, this Government came to power pledging to stamp down on drug abuse. Keith Hellawell was appointed "drugs tsar" in 1997 - only to have his role severely truncated last year.

Drug misuse is too complex a problem to be solved with a simplistic, zero tolerance approach. Most people acknowledge the big difference between the dangers of soft drugs such as cannabis and the likes of heroine and cocaine.

And it is increasingly recognised that reducing demand is more effective than futile attempts to stem the relentless supply of hard drugs. Only last month, drugs minister Bob Ainsworth told MPs that for every pound spent on drug treatment programmes, £3 were saved in criminal justice costs.

That same select committee heard yesterday from parents who had lost children through drug abuse. The parents argued that it was time to legalise all drugs.

It is highly unlikely that any government would agree to that. But we must encourage radical thinking if we are to find a lasting way to tackle the drugs nightmare.

Updated: 10:33 Wednesday, March 13, 2002