WAYNE Berry's policy of withdrawing support for giving heroin to addicts
legally has come under some criticism. It's unwarranted.

Mr Berry understands (i) the best expression of harm minimisation is being
drugfree; (ii) being legally drug addicted is not a normal human state;
(iii) by definition heroin maintenance programs are not intended to make
addicts drugfree; (iv) not all antidrug treatments have equal outcomes,
therefore governments must urgently identify the one or two that achieve
the highest drugfree numbers and fully implement them.

Mr Berry also understands that based on Dr Gabrielle Bammer's 1995 estimate
it would cost taxpayers $12 million per annum to maintain the 1000 or so
ACT heroin addicts. Using the precise data of the eminent British drug
addiction professional, Dr Colin Brewer, to detoxify and rehabilitate the
same 1000 with Naltrexone would cost about $4.8 million (per capita cost
$4800) The prospect of becoming drugfree after the latter treatment is up
to 60 per cent arguably the highest in the world.

Do let's forget drug libertarian and open society philosophies: help people
to be drugfree and save hundreds of lives. The Swiss drug referendum
result was totally predictable. Having formed a legal drug "crutch", the
Swiss can't now get rid of it without getting rid of legal heroin. It's
like having a deliberately unhealed broke leg the crutch stays.

COLLIS PARRETT
Bruce