HEROIN DROUGHT LEADS TO ALERT ON SEDATIVE

The Victorian Government yesterday urged doctors and pharmacists to stop
prescribing and supplying some sedative gel capsules because of injuries
being suffered by injecting drug users and an associated crime wave at
chemists.

Health Minister John Thwaites said the use of gel capsules, particularly
Temazepam, had risen sharply in the past year because of Victoria's heroin
shortage.

Mr Thwaites said Temazepam, which is mixed with heroin to heighten the
rush, blocked peoples' veins and caused chronic skin ulcers, abscesses and
gangrene. Users commonly inject it into their groin, throat and veins.

Mr Thwaites said there had been 537 Temazapam-related burglaries at
Victorian chemists between January and August this year, and that doctors
and pharmacists had reported that people wanting the capsules were becoming
increasingly aggressive.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer, John Catford, has written to doctors and
pharmacists asking them to drastically reduce their stocks of gel capsules.

The Temazepam capsules, which are commonly taken by people suffering
sleeping problems and which can be bought on the street for $5, were banned
in Britain in 1996. Australia's health ministers are considering similar
action.

Helena Jedjud, of the Innercity Outreach youth substance abuse service,
said Temazepam had always been around, but had become more popular late
last year as a result of the heroin drought.

She warned that the withdrawal of the capsules from chemist shelves could
have side effects, with users often experiencing severe episodes of
aggression and psychosis as they "come down" from the drug.

She urged the government to establish programs specific to Temazepam, so
addicts could be helped to manage their withdrawal from the drug.

Sarah, a 20-year-old who has been off heroin and Temazepam for "a few
months", said the gel capsules were easy to obtain and intensified the
effects of heroin.

She was concerned there were not enough detoxification beds available in
the state to cope with the Temazepam problem, which she said was in some
ways worse than heroin because of the anger addicts often felt when the
came off the drug.

Minh, a 21-year-old undergoing detoxification, said although Temazepam "ate
away" his skin, he used it because heroin alone was no longer effective.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia illicit drugs spokesman Irvine Newton
said pharmacists had a duty of care not to allow Temazepam's destructive
effects to continue.

The former Victorian chairman of the Royal Australian College of General
Practitioners, David Dammery, called on doctors to learn to say no to
people they suspected of being drug users.