DROUGHT WILL LEAD TO DRUG SWITCH

Piers Akerman may have missed something in his analysis of the effects of
the heroin shortage.

To quote Assistant Commissioner Clive Small: "Most heroin dependents are
polydrug users.'' Consequently their immediate response is to seek another
drug, such as alcohol, speed, an amphetamine or benzodiazepine, the latter
often obtained by doctor-shopping. The side or indirect consequences of
using these drugs can be more anti-social than the consequences of using
heroin.

The US provides case histories of authorities' drug campaigns having
unintended effects. In the 1970s, successful crackdowns on heroin opened
the way for the introduction of cocaine and crack cocaine. In Vietnam, a
crackdown on cannabis use caused soldiers to switch to heroin; both were
available but heroin was more easily concealed. These examples are all
documented.

Piers Akerman's depiction of dependent users' parents as indulgent is a
gratuitous and despicable use of his position as a columnist.

Evan Thomas,

West Pennant Hills