A PIONEERING scheme to get young drug addicts into treatment is being launched in Huddersfield.
The Drug Interventions Programme aims to help criminals aged 10 to 17.
It has been run in five test areas, including Calderdale, and has been so successful it is now being extended to another 32 areas nationwide, including Huddersfield.
This means that if the young addicts get involved in crime, part of the sentence they receive from the court will involve drug rehabilitation.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The drug treatment and testing requirements are targeted at young offenders who may have or are at risk of developing drug problems, and who may benefit from structured care and planned intervention as part of their community sentence."
The new scheme will start in Huddersfield next April.
Nationwide, 1,500 offenders enter treatment this way each month. The Government hopes this figure will rise to 1,000 a week by 2008.
It is part of the Government's get-tough stance on drugs.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "The misery caused by drug misuse must never be under-estimated.
"It damages the health of individuals, ruins the communities they live in and turns law-abiding citizens into thieves.
"The costs to society are enormous.
"Since 1998 we have taken consistent and focused action to tackle drug misuse and much has been achieved.
"Gone are the days when there was little or no drug education in schools or when there was limited treatment, long waiting times and no grip on drug-using offenders.
"Over the last six years we have seen substantial quantities of heroin and cocaine successfully taken out of the UK market and organised crime groups disrupted.
"Total spending on tackling drugs this year has doubled since 2000, to £1.3 bn; 54,000 more people are in drug treatment, and treatment services will be available in 153 prisons by next year -144 more than in 1997."
