CLINIC LINKED TO DRUG DEALS

HEROIN addicts attending George O'Neil's naltrexone clinic are giving away
their prescriptions for sedatives to other addicts, according to
information received by The West Australian.

And the Health Department confirmed yesterday that it had raised the
problem of the over-prescribing of schedule 8 drugs - which includes the
date-rape drug rohypnol - with a number of doctors. The department would
not be drawn on individual doctors but it is known that some schedule 8
drugs are used during drug treatments.

Meanwhile, the partner of a male heroin addict has claimed that another
addict attending Dr O'Neil's Subiaco clinic gave him a prescription for at
least two different sorts of benzodiazepines - a schedule 4 sedative - and
his health card earlier this week.

"Sally" - not her real name - said yesterday she was scared her partner
would overdose on a cocktail of heroin, benzodiazepines and alcohol. He had
been off heroin for more than a year but started to use it again after
meeting some old friends who were still users.

She said her partner's friend told him not to worry about paying for the
prescription because there was no problem with going back to the clinic to
get another one.

The drugs, which included valium, were prescribed by a doctor who worked at
the clinic. At least part of the prescription has already had been
dispensed by an unsuspecting pharmacist.

Her partner is not, and has never been, a patient at the clinic. But she
said it was known in the Perth drug scene that it was easy to source
benzodiazepines from there.

Other concerned people who contacted The West Australianyesterday said some
patients are selling benzodiazepines on the streets to get money for harder
drugs and other patients were developing addictions to the drugs.

In one case, a young woman was willing to go through repeated rapid
detoxification sessions to get her hands on big quantities of
benzodiazepines. She would take some and sell the rest to get money to buy
heroin.

In another case, a mother said her son had been introduced to heroin by a
friend who was attending the clinic. He had become addicted to
benzodiazepines and was literally walking around with a plastic bag full of
them.

"From my experience, they are progressively given more and more
benzodiazepines, not less," the mother said.

"There seems to be a view that it is better for people to be addicted to
legal drugs than illegal drugs," she said.

"But the problems associated with this added-on dependency are largely
being ignored."

WA Substance Users Association manager Tamara Speed said the
over-prescription of drugs would create a black market for them and more
people would die.

Ms Speed also questioned the safety of some other treatments carried out at
Dr O'Neil's clinic, including rapid detoxification.

She said one patient who went through the process in preparation for
starting the naltrexone program had to be artificially ventilated for 24
hours because of acute respiratory depression.