Last week's murder trial gave Bermuda a rare and shocking insight into the risks of abuse in the community.

It would be wrong at this time to debate the merits of Andre Hypolite's conviction since his lawyer has made it clear he intends to appeal, but what is indisputable is that the death of Nicholas Dill occurred, directly or indirectly, as a result of drug abuse.

The trial showed that drug abuse causes people to lose their inhibitions and self respect in the most destructive and dangerous ways, leading them to venture into acts that they would never undertake otherwise.

This trial was a cautionary tale for the community.

The evidence in the case was often graphic and unsavoury, and difficult journalistic judgments had to be made in deciding what to publish and what to leave out.

This newspaper received some criticism for the details that were reported, in spite of an unprecedented warning about the graphic content of the story. This criticism is understandable, but newspapers must balance the sensitivities of its readers against the public's right to a fair and accurate report of the proceedings of court cases.

It would be wrong for the media to sanitise the news to such an extent that the public was unaware of the gravity of a case, or would fail to have some insight into why a jury reached a decision.

Nonetheless, in this case the evidence that was given in court was far more graphic and explicit than what was published.

The important lesson here is that drugs are extraordinarily dangerous and anyone considering using them should read the proceedings of this sorry and tragic chapter. The moral is that drugs really do kill.