CONCERN OVER MORPHINE USE

The Commonwealth Inquiry into Substance Abuse has heard Tasmania's level of
illegal morphine use has risen dramatically to well above the rest of the
country.

The committee met in Hobart today and heard that six out of seven opiate
users in Tasmania use morphine instead of heroin.

Committee member, Federal MP, Barry Schultz, says the important step now is
to discover where users are getting the morphine from.

"I'm interested in the source of the morphine, whether its coming from
pharmecutical sources or other sources," Mr Schultz said.

"It was certainly a thing that pricked the ears of the committee because we
hadn't through any of the submissions heard about that level of morphine
being available."

The inquiry will hand down its recommendations by the end of the year.