Pubdate: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 Source: Sun Herald (Australia) Copyright: 2000 John Fairfax Holdings Ltd Contact: http://www.sunherald.com.au/ Author: Frank Walker Note: The MAP searchable archives now has over 2145 news items from Australia. The following link brings up the most recent 200: http://www.mapinc.org/aussie.htm CHEMISTS TO BECOME DRUG CLINICS EVERY third chemist shop in Sydney will become a methadone distribution centre under government plans to disperse the "honeypot" effect of drug clinics through the suburbs. More than 30 existing methadone clinics will be closed and replaced by suburban pharmacists who will hand out the drug to addicts. Methadone is used to help wean addicts off their heroin habit. To meet the demand from thousands of addicts the number of pharmacists handing out methadone will have to rise by 60 per cent to around 500 shops - a third of the 1,500 chemist shops in NSW. The spreading of the methadone program throughout the community is the next major stage in the NSW Government's battle against drugs stemming from last year's Drug Summit. Addicts on methadone will be more strongly monitored to make sure they go through with programs to get them off drugs. Drug clinics have been attacked as "honeypots", attracting drug addicts and dealers to the areas where they are located. But the Government hopes adding hundreds of chemists to the methadone distribution program will dilute that effect throughout the suburbs. Instead of large numbers of addicts going to clinics, each pharmacist or local doctor will have a small number of methadone addicts to deal with and monitor. The Health Department is working out details of the expanded scheme with the Pharmacy Guild. Special Minister of State John Della Bosca is expected to announce details of the program by the end of this month. Up to $5.5 million is to be spent enticing pharmacists into the scheme with payments and training. Eventually more than $49 million will be spent tightening up methadone services and numbers of addicts on the methadone program will rise from 3,500 to more than 5,000. More pharmacists will also be handing out safe disposal needle packs to addicts to reduce the risk to the community of needle-stick injury. Pharmacists will deal mainly with stable methadone users, many of whom might have a job and a family life and are getting themselves off drugs. Clinics will still take methadone addicts who are unstable and need closer supervision and counselling. "Methadone is a program to get people off more harmful drugs, but it is mostly a crime prevention initiative for the community," Mr Della Bosca said. Methadone is seen as the best way to stem criminal and antisocial behaviour associated with drug addiction. As the Kings Cross injecting room trial gets closer to opening, the Government will launch several other major changes agreed upon at the Drug Summit. This week the first cheques will go out from the $176 million boost in anti-drug programs from the Drug Summit. Mr Della Bosca said $14 million will go to 17 area health services across the State this week to provide eight extra nurses, seven detoxification teams to visit addicts at home and new detox facilities in the central coast and Wentworth areas. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake