HEROIN ADDICTS USE MORE, MORE OFTEN

Heroin users in Victoria were injecting more often and using larger hits
than three years ago, according to a report to be released at a national
drugs conference in Sydney today.

Addicts used heroin almost every day on average in the previous six months
this year, compared to 105 days in the preceding six months in 1997,
according to an annual study of drug use by the Turning Point Drug and
Alcohol Centre.

Heroin now came in larger deals, which had doubled in price to $50 and were
purer, according to Turning Point researcher Craig Fry.

These facts, combined with an increase in overdoses, both fatal and
non-fatal, showed users were injecting more of the drug each time they shot up.

The explanation for these grim statistics was quite simple, according to Mr
Fry.

"The more you use, the more you have to use - which means using more
frequently or using higher quantities," Mr Fry said.

Tolerance to heroin developed rapidly, meaning users needed more of the
drug to stay high.

But tolerance also dropped away quickly if addicts stopped using, so there
was an added danger for people who tried to give up the drug but then
relapsed after a week of non-use.

"If they use the same amount as before, they can very quickly get
themselves into an overdose situation," Mr Fry said.

Three hundred Victorians have fatally overdosed so far this year, compared
to 365 last year.

The Turning Point findings follow a report last week in the Australian
Medical Journal that found 74,000 Australians were using heroin every day.

Mr Fry said the drug was now cheaper, purer and easier to source at
"street-based markets" than it was 10 years ago when it was restricted to
closed circles of users.

"These days anyone can visit these markets," he said.

The Turning Point study was based on 152 users and will be released along
with reports from other states at the National Drugs Trends Conference 2000
in Sydney today.

The study also found disturbing trends towards needle-sharing, increasing
the danger of blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C.

Close to one in five of the users interviewed said they had borrowed a used
syringe in the past month, while almost half had shared equipment such as
spoons, water or filter containers.

Women and people who injected on the street were particularly vulnerable,
Mr Fry said.

However, safe injecting rooms might not be the answer because many of those
interviewed would never set foot in one, Mr Fry said.

Twenty-four-hour access to clean syringes and other injecting paraphernalia
could be achieved by boosting needle-exchange programs and even setting up
syringe vending machines in some places, he said.

Injecting sedatives such as Normison, which came in a gel, coupled with
heroin use, was also increasing the risk of overdose, Mr Fry said.