USER WARY OF INJECTING ROOMS

KAREN (not her real name), a heroin addict for more than a decade, is not
completely hooked on the idea of shooting galleries.

On the one hand, the Warrawong resident believes the proposed injecting
rooms will help clean up the streets and provide a safe environment for
addicts like herself. But she worries that authorities will use such rooms
to round up heroin users for prosecution.

``If it gets users off the streets, then it's a great idea,'' she said, ``It
would be a lot safer than sitting in the gutter or in the public toilets and
shooting up.''

Karen said the major benefit of the proposed injecting rooms would be access
to clean equipment.

``It would stop the spread of disease - you try not to use other people's
equipment but when you're hanging out you'll use anyone's fit,'' she said.

``It's a really good idea to have medical supervision so if someone did
drop, there would be someone there to help. They would also be able to give
users advice and information about services because some people don't even
know about rehab or detox places.

``A lot of people want to get clean but are too scared to ask for help or
too scared to get information in case they are turned over to the
authorities.''

Karen feels, however, that some addicts will steer clear of injecting rooms
for exactly the same reason.

``People won't go there if they think they're going to get done,'' she said.

``There's so many `pigs' around everyone's scared of getting caught. Even
when you're hiding in a toilet block late at night, there's the possibility
of getting caught.

``So I think some people will be scared to walk into a known injecting room
in broad daylight. If the police stay away it would be okay.''

Karen said her days of shooting up in the streets were over and she mainly
used from home now, but she said she would use an injecting room if there
was one in her area.

Her main aim, though, is to beat the addiction.

``I started to try and get clean in 1990 - it's very hard, but it's not
impossible,'' she said.

``I tried the methadone program but that was useless. I was on the 'done and
using heroin at the same time so they kept having to increase the doses and
I ended up with two addictions. It works for a handful but not the majority.

``I'm glad the Government is taking a serious look at the problem, which is
huge in the Illawarra, and I would give anything a try.''

Karen is also hopeful that the Government will introduce policies to
increase awareness of the consequences of heroin addiction.

``When I was young there was no education around, I just thought I'd try it
a couple of times for fun but I was soon hooked,'' she said.

``Then to feel better, you often have to do bad things and that's why the
majority of addicts will eventually turn to crime.

``It's really important for young people to have the right information
before they make the decision to try heroin, because once they're hooked
their choices are limited.''