DRUG ABUSE: DRASTIC ACTION CALL

THE Mercury's January 30 headline on page five said "Bad heroin kills two
in city". Are there good batches of heroin around? I always thought all
heroin was bad. Apparently not.

Ambulance officers are flat out reviving these self-inflicted "victims" for
free, and with no thanks, and sometimes they get abused by the "victims".

We have photos of young addicts in the Sun-Herald, shooting up in broad
daylight in the street, in front of officers of the Sydney Area Health
Service who have just supplied them with a safe injection kit (compliments
of the taxpayer).

The kit consists of one syringe, one spoon, two sterile water bubbles for
injection-mixing, three swabs and one disinfectant. These health workers
only work nine to five. What a job!

All this activity goes on 50m from the police station. Are they blind?

Health Minister Dr Refshauge was shocked and is going to do something about
it - like stopping the needle exchange program for that street.

That is a misnomer in itself; they use the needle and chuck it.

Drug abuse is aided and abetted by mealy-mouthed politicians,
under-strength police, weak magistrates and misguided do-gooders and
sob-artists in general.

We need a strong leader with a lot of intestinal fortitude to take drastic
measures to stop all this from happening.

The law is already there and it will have to be implemented without fear or
favour, not just before election time.

Is this asking too much? I hope not.

A. FRANKS

Figtree