'WRONG' TO EXPEL STUDENT USERS OF ILLICIT DRUGS

Australian schools were wrong to expel students for using illicit
drugs, the chief executive of the Australian Drug Foundation, Bill
Stronach, said yesterday.

Mr Stronach blamed the adoption of a "zero tolerance" philosophy, used
in the United States to stamp out petty crime, for the widespread
practice of expelling students caught using drugs.

He gave the foundation's backing for a safe-injecting room to be built
in Canberra, saying the health benefits outweighed other concerns.

The ACT Government announced plans this week for a safe-injecting
clinic in Civic by the end of 1999 with ACT Labor Party support.

The NSW Government is also about to open one in Sydney, to be run by
nuns.

However, Mr Stronach said illicit drugs were predominantly a young
person's problem. Dropping out of school or being expelled were major
factors in increasing the risk of going from experimental to habitual
drug use.

"So expulsion of drug-using students is not in the best interest of
the student," he said. "I think zero tolerance in schools is almost
inhumane and it makes the problem worse."

Zero tolerance was a fundamentalist and moralistic approach to the war
of drugs.

Schools had a right to expect students would not take drugs to school
and expulsion might be warranted for repeat offenders. But schools
must develop policies and strategies to help retain students in the
school system.

Australia had used a harm-minimisation approach to drug use since
1985, focusing on the harm drugs caused in the community and to
individual users.

The foundation broadly supported safe-injecting rooms for heroin
users, arguing that injecting drugs posed a serious health problem for
drug users and the wider community.

Evidence from overseas suggested the clinics could "make a difference"
for drug users.

"We don't know if it will work here," he said. "If it makes things
worse, or if there are other negative ramifications, we don't go
ahead. We are not going to solve all the problems."

Injecting drugs was a high-risk activity no matter where it occurred,
and providing injecting facilities made it "safer" but not "safe".

Illegal "shooting galleries" already operated informally and illegally
at or near the site of drug purchases. Equipment was generally
unsterile, without clean syringes or needles or the means of safe
disposal. The places were unsupervised and gave no medical assistance.

Clinics in some European countries (Switzerland, Germany, The
Netherlands) for up to 10 years were considered effective in reducing
harm, the risks of fatal overdoses and transmission of blood-borne
viruses.

The clinics did not supply drugs and would not increase drug use.
There were concerns they would send out "the wrong message".

The foundation estimates that it would cost $300,000 a year to run but
give potential savings in health costs.

Each HIV infection cost the community $100,000 and each Hepatitis C
infection $14,000 in direct health care alone.