The politicians alone, maitreya says, are to blame for the desperation of those addicted to drugs. If people are so straitened in life that they cannot even eat properly, he teaches, they will lead desperate lives. They will sell their bodies, steal, and end up in prison. If people are deprived of a future, deprived of nourishment, they will end up on drugs to help them forget their desperation. And from drugs it is not far to crime - even murder.

The massive threat posed by drugs cannot be solved through fear of the law. Strong policing will be needed to crack down on the organised gangs of drug producers, but it is not the answer to the individual drug user. Drug addicts are suffering from spiritual starvation, from extreme self-alienation. Life becomes purposeless and people want to bring their lives to an end, and so they commit slow suicide by way of drugs.

If life has no meaning, then meaning is what must be restored. For this to occur, it is necessary for the person to experience himself differently, to experience a sense of his own worth. Once that happens, he can grow in self-awareness. There is no substitute, Maitreya teaches, for dealing with the individual's internal world.

At the moment, prison is the only alternative for violent and dangerous criminals. The prison population is growing and has now reached the crises point. But, says Maitreya, the problem of crime cannot be cured by sentencing people to prison. prisoners will revolt, for everywhere they have a strong desire to free themselves from excessive rules and regulations.

An energy has been released in the world which counteracts negative forces. Eventually, certain judicial reforms will take place, and minor or petty crimes will not lead to prison sentences. When world tension begins to decrease, when the principle of sharing begins to be implemented through a variety of social, economic and political reforms, people will feel less threatened and there will be less and less crime.