To me - whether the problem is self-inflicted or not - the drug addict is a sick person whose sickness drives him to criminal acts to sustain his addiction. Many a time drug addicts have been thrown into prison for their criminal acts, but is this fair?

Take unstable, mentally ill persons, for example. Nearly all their actions fall under the illness category and they are placed in Mount Carmel Hospital as they are not to blame for their instability.

Is the addict accountable for the criminal acts carried out under the influence of drugs? Is prison the place for them if somehow drugs find themselves inside the prison? Why is there no hospital for drug addicts, as there is for the mentally ill, to cure them of their affliction?

Prison is a place of detention not rehabilitation. Although Sedqa and Caritas have done a pretty good job over the years, our problem has increased - so what is the solution? It is rather drastic, I am afraid, but there is no other.

Drug addicts should be placed in a hospital designed specifically for them (why not use part of St Luke's Hospital?) with a team of counsellors, nurses, and doctors, whether it is the drug addicts' choice or not. They are a threat to themselves and society in general.

Once inside, crime will decrease, drug traffickers will die a slow death and many people will feel safer because nearly all the recent crimes will have been drug-related crimes.

I love the drug addict as much as I love the person who is mentally ill, or the disabled person. Drug use is rampant and we are cursed with crime after crime after crime because of addicts' 'illness'. There is only one solution - lock them up. For their sake, their parents and society in general.