SENSE NEEDED IN HEROIN TRIAL DEBATE: MCCONNELL

THE letter published in your paper on March 24, "Free Drug Give Away
Opposed" is wrong and misleads the public on what is a very serious and
tragic problem within our society.

The feasibility study for a heroin trial, which was completed in 1995 after
four years of consultation and research, showed that the potential benefits
outweighed the costs.

There was further extensive consultation on the issue when the final report
and recommendations were released.

The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy supported the proposal only to have
it overruled by the Prime Minister shortly afterwards. We therefore do not
have any heroin prescription in this country as implied by your writer.

However, the trial of heroin prescription in other countries has shown it to
be a useful addition to treatment.

The absurd statement about giving free alcohol to alcoholics and cigarettes
to chain smokers trivialises what is a huge and devastating problem in our
society.

It trivialises the fact that the heroin prescription proposal aims to save
lives that would otherwise be lost because of the dangers associated with
black market heroin. It also trivialises the suffering from related crime
and corruption.

These problems are not evidenced in alcohol or tobacco use and cannot be
solved without different and innovative approaches.

Might I add that allowing those dependent on heroin to have this drug on
prescription is not much different to allowing those dependent on nicotine
to have nicotine patches.

This problem is difficult enough without publication of downright untruths.
Let's put sense and rationalism into this debate.

M McConnell
HIGGINS (ACT)