People who take drugs are quite simply stupid and those who take them to copy a so-called "celebrity" are even stupider.

Gerry Watts, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

I agree with David from Spilsby except for the ban on the NHS picking up tabs. The most successful vehicle for stopping drinking is Alcoholics Anonymous. Some people need some NHS care before they get there but after that AA is self supporting. People are not going to stop drinking/smoking/taking drugs/whatever until they have had enough pain. They can not be stopped until they are ready and too much public money is wasted with little success. Yes, legalise, save billions on futile policing on but be flexible about the NHS.

Kay Buckley, Huddersfield,

Our own government is'nt prepared to condeme it so the UN has to do it for them.

J GREEN, worthing,

David in Spilsby - it's the taxes paid by the drinkers and smokers which pretty well prop up the health service. And with additional taxes which would be raised through drugs being made available through legal channels it could be a much needed shot in the arm - pardon the pun - for the health service.

And then there's the police that would be released to fight serious crime without having the need to focus on the 'drugs war'. Then there's a serious reduction in crime levels as users would not be criminalised by virtue of just using them.

Win win all round really....

Paul C, Banstead, Surrey, UK

I am sure education regarding not only the effects of drugs, but also the criminality and suffering by others associated with getting the product to market, would help curb drug use. if the penalties for dealing or using (whoever the perpetrator) were severe enough that no one dared risk it, it would surely die out. ridiculing, rather than glorifying, users should be the order of the day.

unless we are prepared to be totally intollerant, however, we might as well legalise it. but we should still severely punish anyone breaking the law in their activities surrounding drugs, whether the criminal gangs pushing the stuff or illegal acts committed whilst under the influence or to fund a habit.

I can't help thinking the un should be focusing on darfur and gaza, though.

jem, london, uk

Legalise the lot with one proviso.................the state won't pick up the tab for any health problems associated with any substance misuse. No NHS funds to be spent on smokers, drinkers or druggies.

david, spilsby, lincs

Why do we have to wait for the UN to state the obvious. Our politicians dare not be seen to be judgmental. Just watch the BBC to see how drug-taking is an acceptable lifestyle.

David, Bromley,

So the celebs lead us down the path of drug addiction. Will the UN now focus on the politicos who are leading us down the path of corruption? Or should they get their own house in order first!

“Politicians can profoundly influence attitudes, values and behaviour towards honesty, particularly among young people,” it said. “The authorities should ensure that politicians who violate corruption laws are made accountable.”

Tim, Newbury, Berkshire

There is no point in legalising drugs. Cannabis is a gateway drug - I know I have seen the effects on others. As to celebrity culture, quite frankly its about time Pete Docherty was put into jail and receiving much harsher treatment - after all if he was a non-celeb he most definitely would have been in jail by now. But its true Pete Docherty is only a celebrity because of his drug problems. He is hardly in the leage of Sir Paul McCartney or many others - a very overrated person!! Kerry Katona, what about her, she is another nobody - completely and utterly brainless. Amy Winehouse seems to get away with it because she is (or rather was) talented. There is always someone else to take their place i.e. Duffy. These people are all putting out the wrong message to teenagers - and to boot they all look absolutely awful. As a parent of a 16 year old boy and 18 year old girl drugs are my biggest worry and this celeb culture does not help.

Lynne Harrington, Navestock, Nr. Romford, Essex, UK

Celebrities often eat ' the bread of wickedness and drink the
wine of violence' (Proverbs 4:17)
Wealth makes sinning
easier, because the seductions are greater. But rich people
are also an example to the youth, they should think twice.

However, the media are also to blame: they turn junkies
like Kate Moss and Amy Whinehouse into heroines.
The Evil sells best.
Can't we see the seductions of the flesh
in British greatest painter,Lucian Freud, grand son of
Sigmund Freud,also addicted to drugs till his very end?

pauline, breda, The Netherlands

What needs to be done is let everyone have a free choice. Consenting adults should be able to make up their own mind, instead of wasting all this time and money on trying to prevent drugs. Instead focus on information so people can make their own informed decision, thus the blame would be solely on the individual. This would end all the problems related to crime. Other health issues might become more prevelant but if illegal drugs becomes a commodity then it can be taxed,hence invest that in the health service! Not to mention they would become a lot more cleaner in that they can be regulated to ensure a more pure form. It makes so much more sense!!

James Blackburn, Sydney, Australia

Interesting in a year when the movie "No Country for Old Men" wins lots of oscars that no one makes the connection between celebrity drug use and the criminal violence in the supply chain. The author Cormac McCarthy challenges us to understand the choices we make that shape our lives. The choice to descend into a drug-feuled world ignoring the violence and misery behind the manufacture and distribution is what celebrities are doing in real life. OK we can legalise cocaine and put it on the same shelf as alcohol. But essentially the same choice of how we live our lives continues.

a don, Sydney, Australia

Doesn't the UN have anything better to do than whine about celebrity culture?
You would have though that with everything going on in the Middle-East and the Balkans they would have their hands full elsewhere...

Priorities people, priorities!

Bungo Walsham, Bath, Somerset

A few celebrities in prison would help.

Chris, Ashford, Middlesex, England

Hi,
celebrity users have made the drug socially acceptable. That such drugs are a danger to one’s health is a fact. Using such drugs to change or stimulate one’s personality is cheating and taking an unfair advantage at a cost. We now know that even light drugs such as cannabis cause psychosis. How difficult it may seem one must be what one is without the help of drugs.
Regards Dr. Terence Hale

Terence Hale, zandvoort, Holland

The only winners of the war on drugs are the bureaucracies and the criminal gangs.

The rest of us have been suckered losers in it for fifty years.

Alan Wilkinson, Russell, New Zealand

No need to worry now Keith Vaz has opened an inquiry ...

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

When my son was twelve years old and had just started secondary school in Islington he knew who was dealing cannabis in the school. I thought then that in my generation we gained that kind of 'knowledge' six to ten years later and that was quite soon enough. However, I had no illusions that if the government would instantly change the law, it would have an equally instant impact on MY son - his son maybe, and only maybe. I decided that my example was the only way to teach. I gave up drinking alcohol completely. In the subsequent ten years I have never drunk so much as a millilitre. My son has also never drunk alcohol, smoked cigarettes or touched any kind of illegal drug. He avoids those who have such habits. There's only one way - you can protect your own kids and yourself by getting rid of your own hypocrisy. Stop consuming intoxicants yourself. Show that self-control is possible and valuable. No government can do it for you.

RW, London,

Every celebrity user of any illegal drug is a positive advert for the practise. Every user is also a funder of the crime syndicates and terrorists who rely on it. As such any celebrity found guilty should be banned from public performance until shown to be clear of any traces of drug use and tested for at least two years after any conviction.
Failure to do this is a betrayal of all those risking their lives to fight drug trafficking in both South America and in Afghanistan.
As for legalising it just ask the families of the prats who take this stuff whether it should be legalised. They know otherwise even if the users themselves do not because they are so brain damaged.

D Cage, Highworth, UK

Why not spend time and money on controlling our borders? How about sending a strong message out to foreign drug traffickers by deporting them and local grown drug dealers by jailing them for longer!

This government should stop being so liberal and have a proper crack down. Get tough is the only way to stamp this out.

steve, Auckland,

The UN report hits the nail on the head. In the UK drug abuse by celebrities is almost encouraged by their public relations specialist in order to increase their popularity; this is a perverse and profoundly disturbing phenomenon. Many people have heard of Pete Doherty only because the guy is taking drugs all the time, not because he is a particularly good artist! And to make matters worse there is not significant opposition and condemnation of this kind of behaviour and life style.

Miroslav, Sheffield, UK

just legalize and regulate and allow people to use drugs responsibly as which alcohol is, it will make the world a much more fun place, reduce crime and remove senseless paranoia.

cohcoh, new york, new york

Pte Docherty, Kate Moss, karrie Katona etc etc. These so called icons and role models for our children have all been accused of taking drugs and are still treated as celebrities. Even the police seem to be vary of addressing these issues. WHY?

Hamad Lone, London, England

This drug problem is getting out of hand in the UK. It also influences all sorts of crime including organized crime. Although it's hard to stop, I think there are various things the government can do: 1. Tougher Laws are required for Alcohol and Tobacco Dealers - including the ability to freeze financial accounts of suspected Alcohol and Tobacco Dealers 2. Tough laws for anyone aiding or abetting an Alcohol and Tobacco Dealer 3. Tough laws for possession and use 4. An Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement Agency with unlimited powers to investigate any suspects 5. Education in schools 6. Make an example of a celebrity with the harshest penalties. If we're sincerely serious about defeating this, we can do various things to curtail it - there's no one solution.

There is one solution - legalize it: get the nanny state out of adults lives.

Phil N, Vancouver, Canada

“The authorities should ensure that celebrities who violate drug laws are made accountable.” - I agree, celebrities should be treated the same as everyone else - no better and no worse in the eyes of the law.

However, the authors of the report apparently failed to recognise that the only reason the general public know about celebrities doing cocaine is precisely because celebrities have been held accountable - thus making the headlines.

Ed Bullen, Sydney, NSW, Australia

This drug problem is getting out of hand in the UK. It also influences all sorts of crime including organized crime. Although it's hard to stop, I think there are various things the government can do: 1. Tougher Laws are required for Drug Dealers - including the ability to freeze financial accounts of suspected Drug Dealers 2. Tough laws for anyone aiding or abetting a Drug Dealer 3. Tough laws for possession and use 4. A Drug Enforcement Agency with unlimited powers to investigate any suspects 5. Education in schools 6. Make an example of a celebrity with the harshest penalties. If we're sincerely serious about defeating this, we can do various things to curtail it - there's no one solution.

Erol, London,

Prohibition has failed in every instance.
You cannot fight a war against adult choice: the reuslt is making crimminals rich and police corrupt.

War on drugs is a mask for organised crime.
"Getting Tough" will make it worse. Look at stats on drug prevention vs addicts and deaths. They are *positively* correllated.

Andy, Melbourne, Australia

Instead of invading other countries, a proper war on drugs has been long overdue.

margie, victoria, australia