PETER TRICKETT (Letters, 26 August) is partly right when he says
education is important in reducing drug-related problems, but he is
totally wrong in his criticism of the safe injecting facilities with
his tired old cliche of the ambulance at the bottom of the hill.

A safe injecting facility is in reality an ambulance at the top of the
hill. It provides a facility that can contribute significantly to the
health and wellbeing of those who are currently injecting drugs and a
facility where they can receive both medical attention and
counselling. Such a facility not only means the difference between
life and death for the user but also a chance for a better life outcome.

Education is all very well as a partial preventive measure, but it is
not the only measure. There are other factors in society, such as
unemployment, homelessness, illness, poverty and the greed that arises
from the enormous profits from trading illicit drugs that need to be
addressed in any prevention strategy. But does Peter Trickett not see
that good access to medical and other care and services is the best
safety net for reducing the damage for those already addicted?

If Peter Trickett does not care about the health of these human beings
then perhaps he should care that a safe injecting facility will
protect the general community by contributing to the reduction of the
transmission of blood-borne diseases and discarded syringes.

BRIAN McCONNELL President, Families and Friends for Drug Law
Reform