RADICAL ANTI-DRUG STEP

THE PROPOSED trial of a safe injecting room for intravenous drug users will
no doubt cause some soul-searching among MLAs. As it should. An injecting
room is a radical measure and there will be those who see it as a sign that
the war on drugs has been lost.

In fact there is no need to look as far as injecting rooms to know that the
war is being fought on unwinnable fronts. In the ACT this year more people
have died from drug overdoses than on the roads, and the profile of the
typical user is getting younger all the time.

Injecting rooms may be one means of minimising the harm done by drugs, but
many issues will need to be resolved if the community is to get behind the
idea.

The first is location. Civic is the obvious choice, yet it must be a site
that will not affect the amenity of the area or upset local businesses.

The community would not want to see an injecting room in an area frequented
by children (near a park or a record shop, for instance). On the other
hand, the room would nead to be fairly central. A balance must be struck
between visibility and invisibility. No-one wants to see illicit-drug use
presented as a normal, mainstream activity, particularly if there is a
danger of children getting the wrong message.

The community will also need assurances that the site would not become a
magnet for drug traders. How could this be achieved, short of maintaining a
police presence (and risking deterring users)?

The public must be confident that the existence of the room will not
encourage drug use. There may be people tempted to experiment with drugs
for whom the prospect of a safe injecting environment could be a deciding
factor.

Such issues must be addressed before the community can be expected to
support an injecting-room trial.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski