AN INJECTING ROOM MAY STILL BE A POSSIBILITY

Canberra might yet get a self-injecting room in Civic for drug users,
despite strong political opposition, as ACT Health Minister Michael
Moore works behind the scenes to find support.

Mr Moore said last week he was disappointed by the stance taken by
Greens MLA Kerrie Tucker, who wants the clinic to be part of a wider
drug strategy. Combined with only lukewarm support from the Labor
Opposition, Mr Moore said he felt the plan should be withdrawn.

"It has been put on the back burner but it is definitely not off the
agenda," a spokeswoman for Mr Moore said yesterday.

"He thought it was fair to get cross-party support so that it does not
become a thing to grab headlines later on."

She said Mr Moore could have introduced the injecting clinic without
going to the Legislative Assembly beforehand.

Mr Moore was committed to the concept of harm minimisation and had
been informed of the outcome of similar clinics in German and Swiss
cities, where crime rates had fallen and drug users had experienced
improving health coupled with lower overdose rates and death rates.
"It is dealing with the health and wellbeing of drug users," she said.

Such clinics gave government workers the opportunity to apply health
services and rehabilitation programs. The director of the ACT Drug
Referral and Information Centre, Maureen Cane, said the issue was
about "saving lives".

The ACT Ambulance Service reported five overdose calls in the first
two weeks of January and a total of 850 calls from overdose victims in
1997-98, 280 of them for heroin. Ten people died of heroin overdoses
in the year.

Ms Tucker said a clinic needed to address concerns she and others
felt. But she supported the clinic for the benefit it presented for
the health of drug users.

A public meeting is planned for February 9 at the Legislative Assembly
from 7pm until 10pm.