HEROIN FIRST CHOICE OF YOUTH: MAGISTRATE

Young people are turning to heroin as a drug of first resort, rather
than progressing to it from softer drugs, Dandenong magistrate Peter
Couzens said yesterday.

He said influences such as the abundant supply of heroin and its
relative cheapness meant young people no longer graduated from
cannabis to heroin.

"Today, it is commonplace. At worst, at the moment, something like 30
per cent of children who appear in the court that I preside over three
Fridays a month are heroin users," said Mr Couzens. "What is troubling
to me, is that the numbers of those children is increasing, their age
is getting younger and they're moving on to heroin as a drug of first
resort."

Mr Couzens said the drug problem was rapidly - not gradually - getting
worse. He estimated 90-100per cent of people appearing before
Dandenong's remand court for bail or sentencing were heroin users.

Mr Couzens was speaking at a forum to raise awareness of Dandenong's
Real DEALL (Drug Education and Learning Lifeskills) program, which is
offered to young people appearing in the Dandenong Court on
drug-related charges.

The 10-week program began in July last year and received $75,000 from
the Government's Turning the Tide strategy, but funding ends at the
end of this month.

About 20 young people have been through the program. It includes
education about drug-use, the juvenile justice system and behavioral
issues and seeks to build trust and confidence.

Offenders considered suitable for the program have their sentences
deferred until they have completed the course.

Mr Couzens told the Minister for Community Services, Christine
Campbell, that money must be found for the program.

"The cost ... is, in the context of the budget, a drop in the ocean
and yet it may well provide a life raft for many young people who
might otherwise drown in a sea of heroin abuse."

Ms Campbell said the government was aware of the value of the program,
which could apply for funding from money allocated in the budget to
drug initiatives.