DRUG BLOCKER PROVES ITS WORTH: O'NEIL

NALTREXONE doctor George O'Neil said yesterday he had put implants
containing the opiate-blocking drug in 94 addicts"stomachs in the past
four months.

Dr O'Neil's implant work is not part of a clinical trial but he can
bypass Federal drug authorities on the grounds that the untested
method is saving patients from death.

Dr O'Neil said the 94 patients had all had at least four heroin
overdoses and/or lifesaving hospital treatment before getting the
implants. He said implants were safer than tablets because the drug
was automatically released inside addicts.

The dose in the implants varied. Dr O'Neil said that 15 patients had
two implants each to create a higher dose because they had still
managed to use heroin with one implant.

He called an 8pm meeting of supporters tonight at Subiaco Church of
Christ to lobby Labor and the Government to commit $12 million over
four years to cover a third of his running costs for detoxification,
treatment and rehabilitation programs.

He said the fact none of the 94 implant patients had overdosed or died
meant they were a success. But Health Minister John Day said the
Government had already given Dr O'Neil a one-off payment of $160,000,
plus $66,000 of the $500,000 promised by Premier Richard Court in July
and $35,000 of the $539,000 he would get under the 18-month naltrexone
trial.

Dr O'Neil was being paid another $150,000 in monthly instalments from
the trust fund Mr Court announced despite auditors finding his
financial records were inadequate.

Mr Day said the Government had supported Dr O'Neil despite him making
unapproved use of naltrexone. He said taxpayers"money would not be
spent on implants until a proper trial showed they were effective.

Mr Day said Dr O'Neil had raised excessive expectations about his work
and noted that the Government's Next Step drug agency also provided
naltrexone and methadone treatment.

In Victoria, the Government has unveiled a 16-bed drug withdrawal
centre as part of its $77 million battle with the drug problem.

Acting Premier John Thwaites said that the new centre would help up to
900 people a year.