I HAVE never used heroin myself but lived with and loved an addict.
She was the daughter of Duncan Campbell (Addicts Deserve a Dose of
Empathy, Opinion, 29/10) and it was I who found her - too late - on
our kitchen floor.

Jennifer's desperation to break free from her addiction, and the
courage she showed in battling it, will be an inspiration to me for
the rest of my life.

The problem of how to deal with heroin addiction and help those in its
trap is an extremely complex one. While methadone can bring some
stability to an addict's life, it is far more difficult to get off
than heroin and is a trap in itself.

Naltrexone deals with the physical addiction, but does nothing to help
someone cope with a life suddenly devoid of opium's rose-coloured glasses.

The failure of the recent attempt to run a trial on administering
heroin to addicts makes me angry. A trial - nothing more - to see if
it would help people and save some lives.

The self-righteous among us seem to think that if heroin were legally
available, then everyone would race out to use it - except for
themselves. What a low opinion of others these people have. Their
arrogance leaves me speechless.

Who can say whether the availability of such a clinical heroin
treatment might have meant that Jennifer would still be with me. We
may never know.

JOHN HELLER
Darlinghurst, NSW