CALLS by the Vicar of Bolton for hard drugs to be legalised have received a mixed response from Bolton Evening News readers.

Some agree with Canon Michael Williams that the war against drugs is being lost and now the only way to counter the smugglers and dealers and stop organised crime blighting the country is to lift the drugs ban.

But others disagree, believing that even if drugs do become available in controlled environments, such as doctors' surgeries, it will not have much of an effect on crime rates.

Canon Williams says it has taken him many years to come to the conclusion that drugs should be legalised.

"I am not an expert but over the years I have seen what drugs have done to the people of Bolton," he said.

One woman caller to the Bolton Evening News office backed the vicar's call.

She said: "Obviously they are going to steal to pay for their habit. Therefore the best option is to legalise drugs."

A pensioner, who has experience of living with a drug addict in the family agrees that drugs should be legalised under certain conditions.

"I am a gran of 70 years and my grandson has been on drugs for the past 10 years," she said. "I have changed my views over this time as you have to live with drugs to understand what it is like."

Another male caller agreed that the Canon's ideas should be taken seriously.

"It is a bit like going into a pub with a doctor's note and getting a pint because you are an alcoholic," he said.

"But at the end of the day, if they are made legal and doctors can test them for poisons and such, then there won't be as many people dying."

However, Alan Brooks, whose wife was recently mugged, disagrees with the suggestion.

"Legalising drugs isn't going to solve the crime problem because they are still going to want money," he said.

"I think it is a rather negative thought to say legalise drugs."

Grenville Moore believes Canon Williams is going against Christian principals in advocating drugs legalisation.

"Canon Williams is out of order. I can't understand how he can talk about legalising drugs when they are an evil," he said.

"He should be fighting it, not giving into it. Two wrongs do not make a right."

CONTROVERSY: Canon Williams