HYDROMORPHONE TRIAL NOT A BACK-DOOR ATTEMPT AT HEROIN TRIAL

Your report (Herald, January 24) concerning the potential of injectable
hydromorphone to bring addicted heroin users into medical treatment could,
in part, mislead readers.

Hydromorphone is not "fake heroin".

It is a registered and useful painkiller in Australia.

Additionally, the aim of a medical trial of its role in the management of
heroin dependence is not to ignore government and community concerns about
heroin prescribing, and not to evade government processes for approval.

A trial may answer the question as to whether a short-acting opiate would
attract and retain the more severely dependent heroin users in supervised
medical treatment, and assist users along the path to abstinence.

Assoc Prof Richard P. Mattick

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre

Sydney