LET'S BE CONSISTENT

HOW ironic. Page 4 of last week's Sunday Herald Sun carried the tragic
story of a six-year-old buying heroin for mum.

On page 5, there was a story about Health Minister John Thwaites
clamping down on tobacco sales to children.

While we all want our children to avoid the harm of tobacco addiction,
it is ironic the same Victorian Government is taking such a weak
position on heroin.

The Government line on heroin is: "young people are going to take
drugs, so let's make it safe for them."

Strange, we don't take that line on tobacco. Instead, we urge people --
young and old -- not to smoke, full stop.

We don't encourage young people to smoke "safely". Nor do we encourage
our young people to drink and drive "safely". So why this foolhardy
policy on heroin?

If we took the same hard-line, just-say-no approach to drugs as we do
to drink-driving, or cigarette smoking, there might be many more lives
spared.