DRUG WOES

Yesterday's decision by the Victorian Liberal Party to block plans for
the establishment of supervised heroin injecting rooms in that State is
short-sighted.

Unfortunately, the decision is only indicative of the generally
short-sighted and totally unworkable Australian policy towards drugs.

Few Australian politicians are prepared to stand up and point out the
futility of the so-called war against drugs.

All that this war has done is to fill our prisons with drug users and
petty dealers and make drugs difficult to access so that users are
forced into undertaking criminal activity to earn the money to buy
their fix.

More ominously, that war has served to enrich large criminal
syndicates, some of which now have accumulated more power and wealth
than many small countries and which are continuing to extend their
influence throughout society.

Prohibiton does not work, and never will work, no matter how draconian
the laws may be.

The only thing that will work is an enlightened policy coupling drug
legalisation with a realistic anti-drugs education program aimed, over
time, at reducing the number of people who feel the need to use drugs.