Pubdate: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press DRUG HALL OPENS NEXT YEAR, OFFERING HARD DRUG The center, known as a drug hall, will provide clean needles and cubicles, in which addicts may inject or smoke their own drugs, the president of the Madrid regional government Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon announced Thursday. ``Our aim is to help heroin users by giving them hygienic conditions and to prevent the spread of contagious diseases,'' said the director of the Spanish anti-drug agency, Jose Cabrera. The center should be open by the end of February receiving 150 visits a day, Gallardon said. The United Nations Narcotics Control Board was skeptical about the Spanish initiative, which echoes similar experiments in The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Herbert Schaepe, secretary of the U.N agency, was quoted in the daily El Pais on Friday as saying the organization would be watching to see if the project breaks the law. The agency believes improving conditions for drug consumption contradicts the prohibitions against drug trafficking, El Pais said. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk