Source: Advertiser, The (Australia) Contact: http://www.advertiser.com.au/ Pubdate: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 Page: 18 Author: Rex Jory A SAD CASE OF COWARDICE A SIMPLE sign hangs on the wall in a public toilet on the foreshore at West Beach. It gives explicit instructions on how to revive a person in a heroin coma. Outside the toilet, bolted to the wall, is a steel box in which people are encouraged to deposit used heroin needles. These boxes are now a familiar part of public life, as common as rubbish bins. They are in most public toilets, particularly in hotels, airports and bus stations. What sort of society are we developing? Have we given up the social, medical and criminal battle against drugs? Have we become so conditioned that we are prepared to simply accept drug use and its appalling consequences? Or are we, as a community, too timid, too overwhelmed by the size and extent of the problem to do anything about it? We condemn heroin and jail those who sell or use it, and at the same time install facilities in public toilets for the safe disposal of needles. The experts call it "harm minimisation" and, in isolation, that's fine. But what sort of message does it send to young people? Children visiting public toilets are subliminally conditioned to accept that adults inject themselves with drugs and dispose of their needles in the yellow tins provided. It is a classic case of positive reinforcement. When, in their teenage years, they face the inevitable temptation to experiment with drugs how can they then be told it is wrong? And be under no illusions, many, if not all, young people will be given the opportunity to experiment with drugs. A surprising number of people are already using drugs, including heroin, as a recreational pursuit. As a community we are grossly hypocritical, even deceitful. The present policies on drug use and abuse are clearly not working, yet our politicians lack the courage and vision to tackle the problem. There are 5000 identifiable heroin users in South Australia, and that figure may well be much higher, of these, about 1900 are on a controlled methadone program to wean them from the drug. In 1995, the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, 57 people died in SA from drug-related incidents almost all of them involving heroin. If 57 young people died in skate-boarding accidents, from air pollution poisoning or poor dental hygiene there would be a Royal Commission. But drugs - for some reason we don't tackle drugs. Drugs hit all classes of society but because, in the middle classes, the scandal is often covered up, our politicians are not being pressured to act. They lack the will to face head-on a problem which has slowly got under the fingernails of our society. The majority of home invasions, taxi-driver attacks, bag snatches and service station and delicatessen hold-ups are drug related. The majority of people in our prisons are in some way involved with drugs. We know drug-taking in prisons is rife yet we refuse to give prisoners clean needles or control their drug habits. We prefer to remain like the three stupid monkeys and hear, see and speak no evil about drugs. I have nothing but admiration for welfare and associated agencies, who are at the coalface each day dealing with the drug problem, which has conveniently avoided the mlddie classes. But I am sick and angry at the indecision, inaction and hypocrisy of governments who refuse to face their responsibilities. WHY not register existing heroin users and give them a free, daily ration of heroin administered under supervision. Only SA residents could register. The penalties for drug-selling or use could then be savagely increased as a disincentive for the pushers to find new victims. Surely this would reduce the amount of drug-related crimes and the street demand for heroin. It would discourage pushers because the constant demand by addicts would be minimised. And they would also be discouraged by harsh penalties and a clear policy by police, backed by the Parliament, to crack down on drug sellers. I'm sure there are flaws in my simple idea. But anything is better than turning our backs and putting drug-treatment advice in public toilets. For God's sake, let's do something. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski