PSYCHOLOGIST CHARGED OVER 'SHOOTING GALLERY'

A Lismore psychologist was charged last night with allowing his garage
to be used as an illegal heroin injecting room.

Bruce Dufficy, 47, is believed to be only the second person charged in
relation to an illegal "shooting gallery" following the arrest in May
last year of a Kings Cross clergyman, the Rev Ray Richmond, who opened
the Tolerance Room at the Wayside Chapel.

The charge against Mr Richmond was subsequently dropped.

Dufficy was charged with advertising or holding out that his Conway
Street premises were available for the administration of prohibited
drugs after he was reported in yesterday's Lismore Northern
Starnewspaper as saying he knew it was illegal but wanted to help
addicts who had been using his garage to inject drugs.

He said drug addicts had been using the garage to inject drugs before
he recently moved to his new house. He had found more than 100 used
needles in the garage and had then decided to provide bins for
needles, paper towels, seating, tea and coffee and food as well as
information on local health services.

The National Party member for Lismore, Mr Thomas George, who raised
the issue yesterday in State Parliament, said he "could not accept an
illegal safe injecting room in Lismore".

Dufficy was taken into custody at 3.20pm yesterday and released last
night on bail. He will appear in Lismore Court on July 17.

Meanwhile, the State's first licensed safe-injecting room could be
operating in Kings Cross within eight weeks after its operators, the
Uniting Church, lodged the necessary application to the Government on
Friday.

The application will now be scrutinised by a committee of police,
health and legal experts, but government sources said it could be
ready to open within six to eight weeks.