GLEBE'S DRUG SHAME

A DE FACTO drug-injecting room in a Glebe park public toilet will be
installed with blue lighting to discourage drug users after the Courier
alerted Leichardt Council to the high number of syringes left in the area.

During an afternoon walk on Friday, July 14 the Courier found as many as 25
syringes and associated drug-injecting paraphernalia in Glebe Point Road's
Foley Park and several nearby streets.

The council acted swiftly when the Courier made enquiries about the health
and safety risks at the park.

"Thank you for drawing council's attention to the issue of discarded needles
in certain localities of Glebe," a council statement said, "Both the mayor
and the general manager have taken a personal interest in this."

The council responded by enhancing cleaning measures to ensure discarded
needles were disposed of promptly.

The toilets, which are locked at night, were being cleaned by contractors
"regularly". This will be now be stepped up to daily cleaning and blue
lights will be installed to make intravenous drug use difficult.

Planned refurbishment work on the Foley Park facility will be brought
forward and should begin in the next few weeks.

"We are also working closely with police and the Leichhardt Community Safety
Committee on various safety issues in the Glebe area and this provides a
forum for discussion on drug use and how it is being policed," the council's
statement said.

Leichhardt local area commander Superintendent Denis Clifford told the
Courier police were investigating the drug problem and drug supply in Glebe
and were trying to involve more people "at the community level" to find
solutions.

"It's disappointing that, considering we have needle exchanges available, we
are finding needles in the area," Supt Clifford said.

Glebe Youth Service co-ordinator Dorothy Bottrell said a major part of the
problem was that Glebe had no specific drug and alcohol service.

The State Government-funded youth-service has been conducting a trial over
the past month with a counsellor visiting the area every Tuesday, slowly
building a rapport with drug users.

The Reverend Bill Crews, Ashfield's Exodus chairman and a supporter of the
safe injecting room proposal, said Sydney was suffering from a "bankruptcy
of ideas" in the bid to find solutions and that simply making life difficult
for drug users in Glebe was not the answer.

A spokeswoman for the Member for Port Jackson, Sandra Nod, said she was
aware of, and concerned about, the drug problem in Glebe. She said Ms Nod
would be talking to Leichhardt police and the NSW Police Minister's office
to find short-term solutions and would continue working on longer-term
strategies to combat the social issues.

* NSW Health's Needle Clean Up Hotline is 1800 633 353.