PLAN TO REDUCE WAIT FOR DRUG ABUSE HELP

Drug users who opted to kick their habit would get detoxification and
withdrawal treatment in less than 10 days under new targets set by the
Victorian Government.

The proposal is part of a $77 million package announced by the government
yesterday to tackle Victoria's drug problem through public education,
treatment, rehabilitation and prevention.

The package was developed by the government in response to the
recommendations of the Drug Expert Policy Committee, headed by Dr David
Penington.

Among the measures announced yesterday were commitments to:

Double the number of drug treatment beds from 400 to 800.

Employ an extra 500 drug workers.

Divert 7000 drug offenders annually from courts into treatment.

Ensure at least 50per cent of seriously dependent heroin users are linked
to drug treatment services each year.

Premier Steve Bracks said it could take years to reduce the impact of drugs
on society, as there were no "silver bullet solutions".

"One of the biggest social issues in Victoria is drug misuse and the
horrific toll (it is) taking," he said. "Already this year there have been
300 deaths. That is totally unacceptable in a civilised community..."

Mr Bracks said the government had a role to play in tackling the problem,
but it required the involvement of the entire community.

"We are calling for a mighty effort from everyone because this problem is
our problem and we must face it together," he said.

Mr Bracks said a key commitment was to ensure people who wanted to give up
drugs had the shortest possible wait for treatment.

To help achieve this aim, the government would establish 15 mobile drug
response services, costing $3 million, to provide street-level support and
access to treatment.

Mr Bracks said the government would also continue improving the
availability of treatment services.

Health Minister John Thwaites said the waiting time for drug withdrawal
services had been cut by 60per cent in recent years.

In 1996, the number of drug withdrawal beds had fallen to 200, rising to
just over 300 in 1999. This had left drug users waiting for up to 30 days
for treatment.

Mr Thwaites said that an expansion in treatment services in the past 12
months had already cut waiting times to 12 days, but the government was
aiming to cut this to under 10.

The government has adopted the majority of the Penington committee's
recommendations, but rejected a call to repeal laws that make personal use
of heroin an offence.

Opposition health spokesman Robert Doyle said that while some of the new
measures were welcome, the government was "raising the white flag on drugs
before they have really begun to fight".

He said it was unacceptable that users might have to wait for up to 10 days
for treatment and called for the government to commit sufficient resources
to eliminate delays.

But Dr Penington said he was delighted with the government's "rapid and
very constructive response" to his committee's final report.

He was pleased that the initiative emphasised the important role of local
councils and communities in tackling drug abuse and pledged to fund them
adequately.

He said the government's aim to reduce the waiting period for treatment to
10 days was reasonable.

Paul McDonald, the executive director of Victoria's Youth Substance Abuse
Service, welcomed the government's initiative, saying it had acknowledged
the needs of individual drug users and poured money into treatment services
that could lead them out of addiction.

But he said he was disappointed the government had baulked at repealing the
section of the law that deals with administering illicit drugs.

Dr Penington had hoped this would encourage heroin users to dispose safely
of their syringes and that it would help eliminate the public nuisance
associated with injecting drug use.

The Mayor of Port Phillip, Julian Hill, said the government's response
contained "more money, if anything, than we anticipated or expected", and
he was particularly pleased with the focus on prevention.