Pubdate: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 Source: Herald Sun (Australia) Copyright: News Limited 2000 Contact: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ Author: Ross Brundrett GIVE THEM THE STICK The State Has To Get Tough On Drug Users Who Do The Wrong Thing ALL THE confetti has finally been swept away, the wedding video has become passe and the honeymoon is deftnitely over for Steve Bracks. Richard Branson sort of killed off the last remnants of the party this week by deciding to take his Virgin Australia airline operation to Brisbane, along with his expected 750 Australian employees. Youch, and this after Steve bad got into Branson’s apparently receptive ear and told him how wonderful Melbourne was. Coupled with the sad fact that just about every union in the state has decided that now would be a good time to up the ante and maybe even strike, our Stevie doesn’t look quite the wonder be seemed to be a few short months ago. And now it’s my turn to put the boots in. Well, not quite. But it’s the test of any government to recognise the demands and needs of a community and legislate accordingly. And just lately an issue has repeatedly raised its ugly head and it’s about time the State Government (that’s YOU, Steve) decided to do something about it. AND no. I’m not talking about that serial bore Peter Hore, although come to think of it, some sort of State Law to bar serial offenders or offer a greater prison deterrent would not be a bad idea. But my beef is with something much more serious, something which has the capacity to poison the whole drug debate, unless the government decides to take a proactive step. The issue of needle disposal may seem incidental, considering the number of people, young people, who are gripped by our drug culture and who are dying in our streets. But it’s not. It’s a big part of the problem. Particularly for the vast majority of the community. You know, the non-drug users. I suspect a growing number of the un-drugged are becoming less sympathetic with the drug-takers. And it’s not just because they are tired of having their houses burgled by drug addicts who are often barely punished for their crimes, or because they see a growing number of addicts committing awful crimes on the road. It's because of situations like the one this week when a young rail commuter got jabbed by a syringe, left sticking upwards between seats on a train. This is not such an isolated incident. We're now being told of needles being placed in the coin slots of parking meters for goodness sake. Our beaches suddenly are no longer considered fit for organised sport such as volleyball and Ironman events because of the syringes being unearthed. And the number of needles careressly dumped in our streets and public lavatories has already reached epidemic levels. Yet I do not know of a single person who has been prosecuted for incorrect disposal of a syringe. The government has to know it is a two-way street. If it wants public support for safe injecting rooms and other programs, then it has to be prepared to act tough on drug users who do the wrong thing. Leaving a needle in a public place is not a simple case of littering. It can be life-threatening. The seriousness of the act should be reflected in new laws for a relatively new crime. A few weeks ago, while gardening in the neglected wastelands of my driveway, I discovered an abandoned syringe, at least 15 metres from the footpath. Which meant someone either wandered up our driveway to dump it or made like a javelin thrower from the street. APART from giving me an excuse not to do any more it convinced me that the problem can' be ignored any more or we will end up having a community completely divided. I don’t care what state of mind the addicts are in. They should be prosecuted. For the good of all. Meanwhile, the government should enforce the idea that a needle exchange program should be just that, an exchange of needles, not just a hand-out. And it should look at introducing automatic retractable syringes. I’ve got a feeling that is one extra cost the community will not baulk at. - --- MAP posted-by: Greg