DRUG REFORM ADVOCATE CLAIMS NCA CALL SIGNIFICANT

A drug law reform advocate says support from the National Crime Authority
(NCA) for prescription heroin trials is a significant development.

The NCA has called on the Federal Government to consider a range of new
options to reduce the profitability of supplying drugs, including allowing
doctors to provide heroin to drug users.

Prime Minister John Howard says it will never happen while he is in the top
job, but there has been qualified support from Opposition leader Kim Beazley.

Dr Alex Wodak from St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney has welcomed the
comments from the crime authority.

"Increasingly, the people who are calling for these trials are from law
enforcement these days," he said.

"Originally it was people from health, but even people from Customs and
police and other branches of law enforcement these days see that what we're
doing is failing so miserably and we have to try new things."