Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press GERMAN CABINET APPROVES PLAN FOR 'JUNKIE CENTERS' Worried about a national rise in drug-related deaths, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Cabinet approved a bill Wednesday that would allow states to set up centers where heroin addicts could go for a safe fix. Christa Nickels, the government's drugs policy adviser, said the proposed law would clear up a legal grey area for street workers who ''stand with one leg in jail when they provide survival help.'' She noted that the number of deaths related to consumption of illegal drugs rose to 798 in the first half of 1999, compared to 735 in the same period last year. But in Frankfurt, which has experimented with drug centers and methadone clinics, the number of drug-related deaths has dropped from 183 in 1991 to only 44 cases in 1995, she said. The proposal sets federal standards for so-called ''junkie centers,'' but leaves the decision whether to set them up to local governments in each of Germany's 16 states. It still must be approved by parliament. Opposition conservatives criticized the plan Wednesday as dangerous for young people, who they said might misinterpret the centers as signifying official acceptance of drug use. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck