editorial comment maybe "despite" should read "because"....

Although Customs officials and police in Britain have enforced tougher measures to catch drug traffickers and dealers, illegal drugs have become more widely available than ever before, the Independent reported Nov. 28.

A new report from the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit (IDMU) finds that illegal drugs are now cheaper and easier to obtain. Furthermore, hard-core addicts are not the only group of people seeking the drugs. Young, recreational users have also become regular customers.

"Cocaine especially has become more attractive to professional types who use it on special occasions or to users who share it between their friends," said Matthew Atha of the IDMU.

According to the report, an ecstasy pill can be purchased in Britain for the same price as a chocolate bar. A line of cocaine costs the same as a glass of wine.

The report attributes the drop in cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and cannabis prices to increased competition between gangs; a decrease in the purity of some drugs, like heroin; and a decline in demand for certain drugs, such as marijuana, which many are growing at home.

"The UK has always been one of the countries with a long-established and severe drug problem," said Paul Griffiths, who monitors the European drug situation for the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Addiction, which compiled the report. "These problems are not getting any less severe. Some of the most innovative drug treatments and best practices have been pioneered in the U.K., but I would not be complacent."

The government is reevaluating its current policy and seeking new strategies to reduce drug use.

Mike Trace, a former government drug adviser, said officials should focus on routine drug users, but not with punitive measures. "It would be wrong to think that stronger coercion into treatment will make the system work better -- the focus should be on improving the quality of the treatment available," said Trace, director of the Beckley Foundation drug-policy program.

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