DRUGS are a major problem in our society - their illegal use is now widespread and causing serious problems at all levels of society.Police face a constant war to try to stem the drugs trade.

DRUGS are a major problem in our society - their illegal use is now widespread and causing serious problems at all levels of society.

Police face a constant war to try to stem the drugs trade. It is a war they will probably never win completely - but their successes can help to keep the problem in check.

So the news that 100 suspected drug dealers from across the country have been arrested by police in Ipswich will be welcomed by many people.

More than 1,000 wraps of cocaine and heroin were taken off the market. That has to be good news.

Everyone in Ipswich has become tragically aware of the dangers of drugs over the last few months.

A dependency on drugs was the root cause which led the victims of last year's killings in the murky world of prostitution.

Drugs are also the cause of much of the petty crime in Ipswich as addicts steal to try to get enough money for their next fix.

The latest police crackdown on drugs in the town, Operation Academy, targeted those in the community who are supplying addicts who need a fix.

The drug trade is an evil pyramid, stretching from growers and high-ranking international drug-traders right down to the small-time dealers who often sell small wraps to feed their own habits.

The police have to target this trade at all levels, and there will rightly be great satisfaction that part of the trade in Ipswich has at least been interrupted by this latest operation.

IN the history of Ipswich over the centuries, one figure stands head and shoulders above all others - and now we should be able to discover much more about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

News that a six-month archaeological dig is to focus on the college he founded near the Waterfront during Henry VIII's reign will excite historians across the area.

Everyone will hope that we learn much more about the man and his hometown in Tudor times.

And many people will hope that the final surviving piece of his college, Wolsey's Gate, can be restored and given prominence as part of the exciting new 21st St Peter's Port development that will start to take shape next year.

IPSWICH Town chairman David Sheepshanks has warned fans who have not renewed their season tickets for next year that they have made a big mistake.

With an encouraging end to the season, many fans will be hoping and believing he may be right - over recent weeks there have been definite signs that a promising new team is developing.

And, of course, if Mr Sheepshanks is right that could eventually mean more money flowing into the club as fans who have not renewed this spring decide to pay on a match-by-match basis if the team does start soaring up the Championship during the autumn.