PLEA FOR DRUG FIX TO CUT VIOLENCE

Prescribing heroin for addicts could reduce the soaring number of
crimes involving knives and guns, the director of St Vincent's
Hospital Alcohol and Drug Service, Dr Alex Wodak, said yesterday.

Dr Wodak was commenting on claims by Dr Don Weatherburn, director of
the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, that heroin users
were responsible for a rising number of robberies.

It was just a matter of time before the Federal Government reversed
last year's decision to block free heroin trials, Dr Wodak said.

"It just depends on how long the Member for Bennelong remains the
Prime Minister," he said. "When Peter One or Peter Two becomes PM, it
will go straight through," he added, referring to the Treasurer, Mr
Costello and the Minister for Workplace Relations, Mr Reith.

However, the manager of the Wesley Mission's Drug Awareness and Relief
Movement, Drug ARM, Mr John O'Hara, fiercely opposed any
reconsideration of a free heroin trial.

"No, no, no, definitely not. When that was on last time, kids said,
'It has to be OK if the Government is going to give it to us'," he
said.

Dr Wodak was cautious of Dr Weatherburn's claim that increases in
violent crime were probably heroin-related.

He said drug-related violence was mostly about "warfare between gangs"
rather than attacks on the general public.

"Most of the people who use heroin get arrested for break, enter and
steal offences, and fraud, forgery and uttering. Not all drug users
commit crimes. Some have never committed crimes in their lives,
other than using a prohibited substance," he said.

Dr Wodak said heroin was becoming easier to buy on Sydney's
streets.

"The price is going down and purity is up in many parts of world.
Heroin production is trebling and cocaine production is doubling
every 10 years. It's hard to find the nostrils and veins to stick it
into," he said.

"There does seem to be an increase in young heroin users. They
generally start experimenting at 18 and are regular users by 19."

Mr Paul Dillon, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre,.
said it was logical that increased heroin use would lead to more crime.

"You become dependent and you need to use it. You run out, you need
more, you don't have any money. What are you going to do?" he said.

"We are beginning to see young people dying as a result of this
increase in use, but it's most probably increasing across the board."

"The average person dying is a male, unemployed, in his 30s, who has
been using heroin for 10 or 15 years."

He said one study in Sydney's south-west suggested the average age for
dealers had fallen sharply, "from 30 to 25 in less than two years".

Mr O'Hara argued that children experimenting with drugs were starting
younger.

"It is now cooler to smoke heroin than shoot it up. They smoke snow
cones, with marijuana in the bottom, sprinkled with heroin on top."

"They used to be 15 or 16. We are now getting them 13 and 12. Some
starting to smoke are eight or nine years old."

Checked-by: trikydik@inil.com (trikydik)