HOWARD CRITICISES INJECTING ROOM PLAN

Prime Minister John Howard has criticised the plan to establish supervised
heroin injecting rooms in Melbourne, saying there was no evidence they
would help the drug problem.

Howard said he would prefer more resources to be put into rehabilitation of
drug addicts than into a trial of injection centres.

The prime minister told 3AW injecting rooms gave 'a degree of acceptability
to drugs use, which I don't support'.

The Victorian Government yesterday said it would introduce legislation in
state parliament during this session to establish injecting centres in five
municipalities.

Howard said the plan sent the wrong message, telling the world that
'Victoria has given up trying to persuade people not to take drugs'.

And he added: "There is no evidence from overseas experience that they
reduce the drug problem."

The state government backed the trials after a report from the Drug Policy
Expert Committee, chaired by Dr David Penington, recommended them and other
measures to stop the climbing death toll caused by heroin abuse.

Federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge also opposed the plan yesterday,
saying he did not think it was 'the right way to go'.

Dr Wooldridge also warned there were legal liability risks in the operating
of such centres.

However, a poll released today found strong support for heroin injecting
rooms in five Melbourne municipalities where the government plans to set up
the rooms.

Overall, 64.3 per cent backed a trial of the rooms in their own
municipality if a suitable place could be found, the poll, commissioned by
the government-funded foundation VicHealth, found.

A total of 1,500 people were randomly surveyed by a firm, Wallis Consulting
Group, VicHealth said.