TA CONSIDERS SUPPLYING HEROIN TO ADDICTS

Tel Aviv has come up with a controversial new plan to give free
heroin to addicts who have failed rehabilitation attempts, reports
the Hebrew weekly Yediot Tel Aviv. City health and welfare officials
are putting together the revolutionary plan, which is aimed at
preventing the social damage caused by addicts trying to obtain money
to buy the illicit drugs.

According to the report, four out of every five heroin addicts who
complete rehabilitation programs eventually end up back on the drug,
and three out of every four property crimes are committed by drug
addicts. The city's welfare service has decided to follow the
example of some European countries and has come up with a plan to
provide controlled quantities of heroin free to adult addicts who
have failed several rehabilitation attempts. The distribution would
be done at a specific medical clinic under the supervision of
doctors. The plan will need to come before the Health Ministry for
approval before it can go ahead.

"There are addicts who will spend the rest of their lives on the
drug, and distributing it to them is a vital treatment," one
specialist said.

The report said the city's welfare service is currently dealing with
1,707 households for drug-related problems, and workers in the field
have long recognized that major problems arise from addicts' attempts
to get money for drugs. Police statistics show that 75 percent of
property crimes and many of the recent attacks on elderly people have
been committed by addicts trying to get money. The figures also show
that only 20% of addicts succeed in rehabilitation programs in the
long term.

The report said there are currently some 15,000 drug addicts in
Israel, most of them addicted to heroin. No response was reported
from the Health Ministry.