THE main producer of heroin is Afghanistan, the money from which goes towards funding the Taliban and al Qaida.

This means that Justice Secretary Jack Straw’s recent call for the NHS to provide facilities and free heroin to addicts, in clinics known as “shooting galleries”, would mean the British taxpayer paying for the munitions and training of Muslim terrorists who’ll then use their training to kill more British troops and plan further terrorist atrocities against the British public.

A far better idea would be to destroy Afghanistan’s poppy crop and provide those tribes concerned with the seeds and tools needed so they can feed themselves.

This will create a major shortage of heroin, taking money away from criminals and terrorists while making heroin so expensive that many addicts will be forced to come off drugs (for which there’ll be help provided) while others can’t afford to start using it.

At the same time there must be greater provision of facilities for the young, so that they have something to do and somewhere to go instead of hanging around street corners getting into trouble and following a path that leads to crime and drugs.

CT Riley, Spennymoor, Co Durham.