Crime in York could be slashed by half if heroin were legalised on prescription, a York solicitor claimed today.

Craig Robertson: a lot of crime is heroin fuelled but no heroin addict wants to become one

Craig Robertson, who runs a practice in Walmgate, says legalisation of the drug would help to break the vicious cycle of drug-dependency and crime.

It would mean a register of all heroin users could be drawn up, GPs could prescribe unadulterated heroin in controlled quantities and users could be given counselling to help them come to terms with their addiction and eventually wean themselves off the drug, he said.

The solicitor, who specialises in criminal defence cases, spoke out as the Evening Press this week launched a four-day investigation into teenage delinquency, homelessness and drug addiction in York.

He said: "A lot of crime is heroin fuelled. No heroin addict wants to become one. If we legalised prescription heroin with counselling and a register, I think that would cut crime by 50 per cent."

York's top policeman, Supt Gary Barnett, admitted today that Mr Robertson was "not far off the mark", but said he was "nave" to think the drug could be legalised in a single leap.

"He's quite right that the way to deal with this problem is by treatment and by education and by getting people away from drugs rather than taking them to court. That causes them to offend and re-offend.

"But heroin is bound up with crime, and the supply routes are criminal ones. Whilst we agree that there are better things we can do, and that we should be treating people rather than simply punishing them, we cannot support legalisation at this stage because there is such a criminal connection."

York GP Dr Sarah Bottom said today legalisation of the drug may well help cut crime, but would do little to help addicts address their problem.

Both alcohol and tobacco were legal, she pointed out - but addiction to both of those drugs continued to cause untold misery.

Family doctors would not be happy to take on the added burden of dealing with addicts, she added. "It would be a massive workload. They are a very determined sector of the community, and other patients, who may be very poorly and vulnerable, are less assertive.

"An addict in the waiting room will do anything to get it, and the poor old lady in the corner may get pushed out. That would not be fair."

In the first part of our four-part investigation into teenage disaffection today, we interview Sarah - not her real name - a 24-year-old single mother from Tang Hall with a heroin addiction and a string of convictions for petty crime.

Her story illustrates just how it is that so many young people get drawn into a spiral of delinquency, crime and drug addiction.

Tomorrow, we look at some of the work being done in York to try to tackle the problem of teenage delinquency and its consequences.

On Thursday the emphasis shifts to one charity working to help keep young homeless people off the streets: and on Friday, a year on from her major study of drug abuse in York, crime reporter Caroline Radford investigates whether anything has changed since - and looks at one possible new solution to the problem.

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