responses from different parts of the community.

Some will find themselves in the uncomfortable position of being asked to inform on a friend or relative who is engaged in drug dealing. That's a hard thing to do and it will be easy to find different reasons not to pick up the phone.

The legalise it lobby will says that cannabis sellers are not really doing anyone any harm, those who feel the youth already get a bad rap will be loath to send another young offender to Westgate, the frightened will wish to avoid bringing the wrath of the dealers down on their heads.

But just as most Bermuda residents will have come across drug dealers and will have found a reason to ignore them, almost all people will know at least one person whose life has been ruined by drugs.

That is a more compelling reason to do something about the problems. Drug users who wish to stop should be treated with compassion and given the help they need.

But drug dealers, who are motivated by profit, need a deterrent to be forced off the streets. The knowledge that they will be turned in and that they will be imprisoned for a long time is just such a deterrent.

Judges have the ability to order long sentences and do so. The community needs to help the Police by turning in the people who are ruining lives. If it does not, then those who allow the drugs trade to continue through their own fear and apathy are as culpable as the drugs dealers themselves.

SURVEY RESULTS EDT Survey results Yesterday's newspaper poll confirmed what most people probably sensed already; whites tend to be more accepting of expatriates than blacks.

According to questions asked on behalf of The Royal Gazette by the Bermuda Omnibus Survey, 40 percent of black residents felt there were too many work permits granted, compared to just seven percent of white residents.

It is interesting, however, that some 38 percent of black residents also felt that the number of work permits granted was "about right'', a sizeable minority.

And the fact that 63 percent of the total respondents to the survey felt that non-Bermudians make a significant contribution to the economy and a further 23 percent felt non-Bermudians made a moderate contribution to the economy speaks for itself.

These figures show that there is a high degree of sensitivity towards expatriates in the black community. The reasons have been well aired. But it is a fact and must be taken into account by Government and business when setting hiring policies.

But the survey also shows that there is wide recognition of the need for non-Bermudian workers in the economy. Government and businesses need to take that into account as well.