ONE PARENT'S TRAGEDY GATHERS A VOCAL ARMY

Former Port Macquarie kindergarten teacher Margaret McKay now travels the
country as an advocate of "zero tolerance" of drugs after her son, David,
died of a methadone overdose last year.

He ground up physeptone tablets - a form of methadone - and injected them.

"He took three physeptone and died instantly," Mrs McKay said. "He didn't
even go into a coma. His finger was still on the plunger. He'd decomposed.
He wasn't found for five days."

David was 29. On his death certificate the cause was listed as "unknown".
Mrs McKay believes many methadone-related deaths are not recorded.

"Everyone I know whose kid died from methadone, it was not listed as such,"
she said.

David started on marijuana at 12, graduated to pills and went on to
methadone when he was using several legal drugs because someone had told
him it would help him to put on weight.

"He used his brain conning doctors to get his drugs, including methadone
for hardly any cost," Mrs McKay said. "He was never a heroin addict. He
would sell his methadone to get heroin on odd occasions. It was like a treat."

Six years ago, when he was admitted to a psychiatric ward to withdraw from
methadone, David wrote: "This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever
done, by far. Worse than heroin, benzo withdrawal. And alcohol. Methadone,
in my pretty wide experience, is definitely worse, longer and more intense
than any withdrawal I've done. And I've 'cold turked' a lot of drugs."

Mrs McKay had great trouble getting him into rehabilitation. "We tried all
over Australia and it wasn't until he had a gun and went to court that I
could get him into Kempsey Hospital to get him off his methadone.

"He was on 150 millilitres daily. He was trapped in this high methadone dose."

Last September, under the banner Keep Our Kids Alive, Mrs McKay organised
an anti-drugs week for Port Macquarie. Hundreds marched, more than 700
attended a forum, former gangland members from Los Angeles brought a
message that drugged street thugs could reform. Students from a local
Catholic school turned themselves into a mass sculpture of human bodies
forming a map of Australia with "says no" underneath.

She wants to make drugs an issue for the March State election, opposing
politicians who advocate "harm minimisation" policies, including the
current methadone program.

She plans to take this message around NSW, with invitations to talk in
Newcastle, Lismore, Taree, Armidale, Maitland, Wollongong, Sutherland and
Hurstville.