It is not necessarily the end of the world if you find cannabis in your teenager's room, an Essex police inspector and leading authority on illegal drugs has reassured parents.

Warning that drug abuse will affect everyone at some time in their lives, Insp Peter French nevertheless delivered a hopeful message when he spoke to members of Brentwood Chamber of Commerce.

He said: "It is not necessarily the end of the world if you find cannabis in your child's room. I am opposed to legalisation because it can be a gateway drug but only a minority of youngsters who smoke it will go on to other drugs or continue to do so.''

He recounted the story of a Brentwood mum who had discovered cannabis in her daughter's room but instead of flying off the handle had talked to the girl and agreed a way forward.

But when the father came home he had been very aggressive and flown off the handle. The daughter had then clammed up completely.

Insp French, whose study of drug courts in the United States has been considered by a special Government task force, said Brentwood was lucky in having a forward-thinking council and supportive community backing a local action plan.

"Any drugs that enter an area are perceived as a problem but in Brentwood we are lucky with support from the schools, council and voluntary services."

Brentwood's closeness to the M25 had made it the site of one of largest ecstasy seizures ever some 18 months ago. And the town's relative wealth might even contribute to its problems.

He said: "There are some extremely wealthy properties. There's a chance the London villains may be moving out into the suburbs and buying property here."

Insp French said Brentwood police had one of the highest seizure rates of illegal drugs in Essex, carried out the largest number of spot checks and had a proactive team gathering intelligence on dealers as well as several officers dedicated to reducing drugs on the street.

n STAY calm . . . drugs expert Insp Pete French.

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