WRONG WAY, GO BACK

The headlong rush to place heroin injecting rooms in Melbourne
continues. The first stage of Dr David Penington's report calls for
the siting of these facilities. Apparently the second stage, to be
released in some months, deals with treatment and rehabilitation.

We have things the wrong way round. Surely in the light of the
failures of the present treatment system we should be looking at the
issue of treatment and rehabilitation first. Having a treatment system
that is "user friendly" actually might make a huge difference to the
drug problems in Victoria. If this was shown not to be working then we
could consider the contentious issue of injecting rooms.

Why the rush to put in place facilities that have no evidence to
support them, have no public confidence and do nothing to encourage
people to stop using drugs?

GRAEME RULE,
DRUG-ARM Victoria,
Dandenong