DRUG COURT DOES BRISK BUSINESS

The first of 300 drug users who will be given a chance at
rehabilitation instead of jail was ordered to undergo detoxification
by Sydney's new Drug Court yesterday at a historic lunchtime session
which was over in 15 minutes.

Accused heroin dealer Quang Le, 23, will spend seven days in a detox
unit at Silverwater Metropolitan Remand Prison before appearing again
before Judge Gay Murrell in Court 6 at Parramatta.

Judge Murrell will decide if Le is sincere. If her verdict is
favourable, Le will be asked to plead guilty to two heroin charges,
given a jail sentence - and sent into a year-long rehabilitation
program outside the prison system.

If Le breaches any of the terms of his rehabilitation, which includes
weekly appearances before the Drug Court, he will be liable to be sent
to jail to serve out his suspended sentence.

By offering incentives to decriminalise their addiction, the Drug
Court hopes to stop users from reverting to crime.

Only adult drug users who have committed non-violent offences are
eligible for the new procedure.

Two other drug users came before Judge Murrell, who warned that
rehabilitation would be "very strict" and might not be "an easier
option than going to jail".

Jamal Ajaj, 33, charged with selling cannabis, was allowed to go home
to see his sick mother and will be back in court at 1pm today, when he
will follow Le into detox.

Robert Ronald Daw, 34, charged with possession of housebreaking tools,
who has spent 17 years in jail, was allowed bail until next Tuesday,
when a decision will be made on whether he is to go into detox.

Ajaj's lawyer, Mr John Peluso, thought the chance of rehabilitation
was an "excellent idea".

He said: "The drug problem has got out of control but there's no point
in sending sick people to jail."

The three were sent to the Drug Court on Monday by other courts and
were assessed by a Drug Court team which includes a police inspector,
a nurse, a parole expert and lawyers from legal aid and the office of
the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Drug Court has access to six
detox beds for men at Silverwater. One detox bed is to become
available at Mulawa Women's Prison in two weeks.

Because it expects to handle only seven to 10 drug users a week, the
Drug Court will sit for up to an hour each day when Court 6 is vacated
by magistrates for their lunch break. But court staff will monitor
rehabilitation programs intensively. The target is to accept 300 users
within the first 12 months.

The program will be evaluated for possible expansion when the last
rehabilitation program is completed in 2000.