ACT NOW TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE

The fact that illegal drugs can be purchased in Kings Cross should
surprise no one; the extent of the trade as revealed in a Daily
Telegraph special investigation published today should be a cause for
alarm at all levels of the community.

The investigation revealed a brazen trade, particularly in cannabis,
at a number of cafes in Roslyn St and Ward Ave with staff at one
establishment boasting it would gross $1 million in its first year of
trading.

The cafes are little more than fronts for the more lucrative illegal
trade. At one cafe, one cup of coffee was made per hour while a
procession of customers bought what appeared to be marijuana in
plastic bags.

All of the establishments are known to police, with one being raided
six times in the past two years.

The ineffectiveness of police in closing down this trade should be a
major concern for the State's legislators.

These revelations come on the eve of a new drug summit — Australia
Drug Summit 2000 — which has been endorsed by Prime Minister John Howard.

The agenda of the summit is encouraging because it promises to broaden
the debate that seems to have been dominated by supporters of harm
minimisation and legal injecting rooms.

Organised by Salvation Army drug rehabilitation services commander
Major Brian Watters on behalf of a community Coalition which includes
the Anglican and Catholic churches, the summit should provide the
opportunity to examine other options, including early
intervention.

With the increasing availability of hard drugs and a growing tolerance
of drug use within the community advocated by the politically correct,
it is a vital forum which needs to address the issue, instead of
becoming fraught by its politics.

It must not be allowed lapse into the pros and cons of injecting rooms
but seek other effective, means of preventing the proliferation of
drug use.

According to Professor Wayne Hall, director of the National Drug and
Alcohol Centre, the proportion of teenagers who have recently used
marijuana has increased from 29 per cent to 35 percent. Of greater
concern is that that the age of users is becoming increasingly younger.

The effect of marijuana on regular users and the relationship with
harder drugs is well documented.

With the support of the Federal Government this summit can provide the
opportunity to turn the tide.

Injecting rooms — regardless of one's view — are a facility for the
addicted. Other methods must be adopted before addiction. The future
of our children may depend on it.