NO ROOM IN US FOR SHOOTING GALLERIES

The Carr Government's plan to trial an injecting room for drug users would
be rejected in the United States for sending a mixed message on illegal
drugs, the US Surgeon General said in Sydney yesterday.

The highest-ranking public health official in the US, Surgeon General
Doctor David Satcher, stopped short of criticising the plan, but said his
country believed in a hardline stand on drugs such as heroin.

"We believe that drugs like heroin that are so addicting should not be
legalised and therefore we don't support shooting galleries or things like
that," he said.

"I don't want to judge Australia, but I can tell you that in the United
States we feel that we have to be very clear that illicit drug use is wrong
and therefore is not supported by the government or our legal system.

"We're at a different place in the United States."

NSW is on target to begin an injecting-room trial in the new year with the
University of Sydney to oversee the plan.

Dr Satcher said the US Congress had reinforced America's hardline stand by
refusing to provide federal funding for needle-exchange programs, despite
their proven benefit in the fight against AIDS.

"Many of our communities are in fact supporting needle-exchange programs in
dealing with the AIDS epidemic," he said.

"The science of those programs shows that not only do they prevent the
spread of HIV it shows it does not encourage drug use and in some cases is
successful at getting people into treatment.

Dr Satcher was at Northmead High School in Sydney's west yesterday to
discuss with students their role in the annual Rock Eisteddfod Challenge.

The national event promotes an alcohol and drug-free experience through an
inter-school dance competition, an idea Dr Satcher wants to see introduced
to the US.