Pubdate: Thu, 09 Aug 2001
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd
Contact:  http://www.theage.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5
Author: Chloe Saltau

DRUG EXPERTS WELCOME NCA SUPPORT

Almost exactly four years ago, Prime Minister John Howard stopped the ACT 
heroin trial in its tracks.

The trial's architect, Dr Gabrielle Bammer, reflecting yesterday that the 
concept had never slipped far from the national agenda since "the 
scuttling", joined other drug experts in welcoming the National Crime 
Authority's position in supporting consideration of a medically supervised, 
controlled heroin trial.

Dr Bammer, chief researcher for the abandoned 1997 Canberra trial, said it 
was significant that another group, particularly a law enforcement body, 
had added its voice to the argument for a heroin prescription program.

"Since the mid-1990s a number of reputable groups across the medical, 
criminal and social spectrum have looked at this issue seriously. People 
aren't necessarily convinced it will work but I think they are convinced 
that there is sufficient evidence that it should be tried," she said.

Dr Bammer, who will travel to the Netherlands early next year to study the 
results of a Dutch trial, agreed with Dr Jeff Ward, a drug treatment expert 
from Australian National University's school of psychology, that the 
opening of a supervised injecting room in Sydney's King's Cross had 
undermined some of the irrational fears associated with controversial plans 
to tackle drugs.

"We won't know what the impact of that is until the trial is finished ... 
but we do know that the sky didn't fall in when it was opened, and some of 
the more dramatic consequences that people feared didn't pan out," Dr 
Bammer said.

"We thought seriously about a heroin trial in the '80s, we thought 
seriously about it in the '90s, and I would be very surprised if we don't 
think seriously about it again this decade."

She pointed to the ACT Government's consideration of a referendum on the 
issue. It is unclear, though, whether the NCA's position returns heroin 
trials to the agenda in Victoria, where they had received bipartisan support.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister John Thwaites said the position was 
unchanged. "We've continually said that a heroin trial is one aspect of a 
comprehensive drug strategy but it can only be implemented if the Federal 
Government supports it," she said. "We will work with whoever is in power 
at the Commonwealth level but our focus is on increasing treatment, 
rehabilitation and prevention."

A plan for supervised injecting rooms was tossed out by the Liberal Party, 
who refused to support the Bracks Government's legislation.

A Victoria Police spokesman said police could only work within existing 
legislation and strive for a broad harm-minimisation approach to the drug 
problem.

Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon has not stated publicly her position on 
injecting rooms.

Melbourne's new Lord Mayor, John So, who supports a trial of a heroin 
injecting room attached to a major public hospital, promised a special 
committee on drugs and city safety to be convened next week would consider 
a range of options, including a heroin trial.

The Federal Government has consistently resisted the concept, even as a 
report commissioned by Mr Howard's hand-picked drug advisory group earlier 
this year offered cautious support for certain addicts, who had not 
responded to other forms of treatment, to be given free, 
pharmaceutical-grade heroin under strict conditions.

Dr Ward said a trial might help those for whom methadone treatment did not 
work, between 15 and 30 per cent of addicts. A trial would also determine 
whether or not a heroin trial could help undercut the black-market heroin 
trade, he said.
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