TREATMENT TRIAL FOR ICE USERS

NSW is planning to conduct small-scale trials of a new treatment for
methamphetamine addiction as part of its fight to stem the rising
tide of harm caused by heavy use of drugs.

The treatment most likely to be used is dextroamphetamine, a
synthetic substitute for methamphetamine, the Health Minister, John
Hatzistergos, said.

"They will be very small trials for extreme-end users for whom other
sorts of treatments have not been successful," he said at the
National Leadership Forum on Ice yesterday.

In a communique released at the end of yesterday's meeting,
participants committed to maintain a "balanced approach to deal with
the harms arising from the misuse of amphetamine-type substances that
focuses on social and health interventions as well as law enforcement".

The forum, which included state, territory and federal ministers,
academics and front-line workers, also agreed to boost training for
health, police and emergency service workers and provide more
education about the drug's dangers in schools.

A uniform ban on the sale of the glass pipes used to smoke ice was
not adopted by the forum, prompting criticism from the federal
Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Christopher Pyne.