'NO CHANCE' FOR YOUNG ADDICTS

THE head of the country's busiest children's court yesterday implied that
the Carr Government had neglected youths requiring treatment for illicit
drugs.

Senior Children's Court Magistrate Stephen Scarlett told the NSW Labor
Government's drug summit that youths with drug addictions and mental illness
in NSW had virtually no chance of getting rehabilitation.

Mr Scarlett's frank comments came as NSW Attorney-General Jeff Shaw
considered the cautioning of offenders caught with small amounts of cannabis
instead of criminal charges against them.

Removal of jail penalties for cultivating small quantities of cannabis was
also contained in a departmental submission to Mr Shaw's summit working
party.

A trial of cautioning offenders caught with other illegal drugs should be
established, the submission says.

The submission also states the offence of self-administration of a drug
should be repealed.

A police caution for possession of small amounts of cannabis, exists in some
States, including Victoria, and it is decriminalised in South Australia.

Summit working parties are debating and considering submissions before
handing draft resolutions to a special group to be finalised.

MPs and delegates will vote on final resolutions at the end of the five-day
summit.

State Labor MP for Cabramatta Reba Meagher said yesterday she expected a
resolution to be formed on setting up safe heroin injecting rooms.

She called for a referendum in local government areas to determine community
support for such rooms.

On the second day of the Carr Government's summit, Mr Scarlett said
legislative changes were needed in NSW to ensure youths with minor cannabis
charges did not enter the courts.

He said many youths were in custody awaiting placement for drug
rehabilitation.

"It's in the court's criminal jurisdiction . . . that the inadequacy of
resources devoted to children becomes glaringly apparent," Mr Scarlett said.

"Not only is there a shortage of residential and out-patient places in drug
detoxification centres for children, there's also a shortage of treatment
facilities for adolescents with mental health problems," Mr Scarlett said.

"An adolescent with mental health problems and a drug dependency has very
little chance of appropriate help in Sydney and virtually none in NSW," he
said.

NSW Juvenile Justice Minister Carmel Tebbutt's working party resolved to
trial a children's drug court and expansion of treatment places for youths.

Meanwhile, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery QC, who was
not invited to the drug summit, said he doubted it would bring any
significant change in policy.

"I have no great confidence that at the end of the summit there will emerge
any really new approaches to the problem or any real determination to try
other than the approaches that have already been tried and been found
wanting," he said yesterday.

Mr Cowdery, who will address a Law Week seminar on drugs in Sydney's
sometimes troubled south-west region tonight, has urged decriminalisation
and regulation of heroin use.