HEROIN UK - 'FREE HEROIN FOR HARDENED ADDICTS'

FREE heroin should be supplied regularly to addicts, a drug campaigner said
yesterday. Mike Goodman, director of the drug and legal advice charity,
Release, is calling for the drug programmes found in other parts of Europe
to be introduced into the UK.

In Germany, government-sponsored versions of "shooting galleries" are
opening while the Swiss have been supplying a test group of 1,000 addicts
with drugs.

Similar measures would help to reduce the impact of Britain's growing heroin
problem, Mr Goodman said yesterday. "If someone is given a legal supply of
heroin, they can live to a ripe old age, hold down a job and lead a
relatively stable life.

"It is not an ideal situation - it is a sad fact. But you have to take the
world as it is," he said.

Mr Goodman, a lawyer who has dedicated the past seven years to fighting
drugs, said: "Far more than cannabis, speed, ecstasy or even crack cocaine,
heroin is the ultimate challenge." He believes, however, it is time to throw
off old prejudices and take a fresh look at the problem.

International experts on drug dependency will gather in London in July to
reveal the results of studies that appear to support the proposal.

Mr Goodman said that young people who experiment with heroin must be stopped
with information about the dangers of the drug. But for those who are
already hooked, it was time for a progressive approach. The addiction may be
too strong to "cure".

"We don't decide we have to cure alcoholism in the UK. If a housewife living
in suburbia is drinking a bottle of gin, we think, 'Let them get on with it
as long as they are not harm to anyone else'. Addiction is an illness. We
should not drive them [drug addicts] to a life of crime."

By supplying addicts with the drug legally, associated crime, unemployment,
family and social problems would be eliminated. A legal supply could also
help to tackle the problems of HIV and hepatitis C.

"Stabilising drugs use cuts down on criminal behaviour and improves the
family situation. Many can hold down jobs and they are kept in touch with
the health services." Furthermore, the dealers would be squeezed out.

Addicts, Mr Goodman said, died of overdoses, bad drugs or illnesses from
contaminated needles. "If somebody is legally supplied with heroin, they
have a life expectancy in line with non-users."

About 200 addicts are supplied with heroin, by a handful of doctors. While
most GPs relied on prescribing methadone, Mr Goodman said the substitute is
inappropriate for some users.

"Methadone is far more addictive than heroin. It is the second choice of
addicts, which means they might still be looking for heroin because it is
their favourite."

The medical establishment, he said, felt more comfortable about supplying a
substitute rather than a drug of choice.

The Swiss have taken a different view. Its Federal Office of Public Health
has been monitoring a programme for more than a year in which about 1,000
addicts are provided with heroin. One organiser will outline the success of
the project at

the Release conference.

"The Swiss are no softies. They have taken a rational, clinical look at the
problem. They held a referendum and 70 per cent of people voted in favour of
a controlled programme."

In Frankfurt, "consumption rooms" have been established where addicts are
provided with clean needles and a place to relax after injecting themselves.
They are also able to keep in touch with health services.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said last night: "Money has been
given to local health authorities to improve drugs services. It is up to
them to decide how they want to spend that money and if they want to seek
inspiration from abroad for their proposals."