Excellent post tom, I've been reading your blog for ages but this is the first time if posted a comment. I have nothing but utter admiration for paramedics, especially in the LAS, as a Met response officer you folks are without question our best friends and saviours!! At the time you're dealing with a casualty - whether a smackhead or not - you can't sit back and think about the benefit or detriment to society that the person contributes. However anyone who says that drug addicts are as much of a victim as the ones they assault or steal from has obviously never dealt with one of those actual victims and seen the heartache. I have never met a crack or smack addict that hasn't been offered treatment to get off it, the one's who do choose to stay on it do so for purely selfish reasons, they don't care about the misery they cause, just as long as they can get their fix. Having no form of actual punishment and having drugs freely available in prisons is the main reason we (the Police) are seen to be so ineffective. I know you guys deal with the same people day in, day out, just as much (if not more) than we do. I would love to know how much these people actually cost to society with the time taken up by NHS treatment, prison space, Police time and economic damaged caused by increased cost of goods/repair.