FLEXIBILITY NEEDED IN DRUG FIGHT

THE one assertion that can be made with confidence about WA's
continuing heroin problem is that there is no ready-made solution.

Perhaps it is wrong to think of it as a problem. It might be more
accurate and productive to think of heroin addiction as thousands of
problems -- as many as there are people who fall into the grip of the
drug or are in danger of doing so.

For it has become evident as heroin use has grown in WA that there is
no single cure, regardless of how passionately some people advocate
one course of action or another. The causes of addiction can be as
varied as the social circumstances, experiences and personalities of
the people who ate vulnerable to it.

It follows that the community's response to the problems of illegal
heroin use should be flexible. The Government has a twofold
responsibility -- prevention and cure.

It is tackling the former mainly through education aimed at warning
young people of the dangers of drug abuse.

This is an essential component of any campaign against drug abuse,
although it carries with it the risk that warnings of danger might be
interpreted by some young people as challenges. And it can be argued
that the preventive program would be stronger if more was done to
identify children who are most likely to be tempted by drugs and to
try to ease the pressures on them.

The question of what to do with people who are addicted will remain
controversial because it intersects with political ideologies. But the
harsh reality is that the minimum first step towards a cure for many
addicts is to try to keep them alive -- and with WA heroin users dying
at the rate of more than one a week this amounts to a big challenge.

Perth Archbishop Peter Carnley's support for an experimental use of
safe injection rooms with prescription heroin no doubt is informed by
humanitarian concern for addicts who risk death because of their habits.

If the doses and the quality of the heroin in such rooms were
controlled, the risk to heroin users would be reduced. Also, addicts
could be encouraged to seek help to try to kick their habits.

Dr Carnley's views sit comfortably with the argument that heroin
addiction is essentially a medical, rather than a criminal, issue and
should be treated accordingly. Although safe injecting rooms may not
be the answer to the State's heroin problems, he has shown the type of
flexibility of mind that is needed in the quest for solutions.

However, there are philosophical objections that can be raised against
Dr Carnley's view. One is that if the State supported free injection
rooms it would be helping people to carry out activities which it
outlawed. Some people would argue that this would amount to the
State's endorsement of drug abuse.

On a practical level, it can be argued that making heroin abuse safer
would encourage more people to experiment with it and diminish the
incentive for addicts to seek a cure.

The message the Government should accept from the tragic level of
heroin use in WA is that there are complex problems involved that need
detailed investigation.

The Government should not reject any proposition out of hand simply
because of political discomfort. It should focus on what can be shown
to work.