HEROIN IS A 'LOSER DRUG'

The liberalisation of drug laws in Zurich has led to a massive fall
in the number of new heroin users, according to a study published on
Friday. Now Britain, which has the highest number of drug deaths in
Europe, is being urged to follow suit, writes Jeremy Laurance

Drugs charities called on Saturday for Britain to abandon its tough
approach to heroin use after research showed one European city has
cut the number of new addicts by transforming the image of heroin
into a "loser drug".

The UK should follow the example of the Swiss capital Zurich, which
adopted a liberal drug policy a decade ago and has seen an 82%
decline in new users of heroin, experts say.

The change has been achieved by offering drug addicts in Switzerland
"substitution" treatment with injectable heroin on prescription, as
well as oral methadone, needle exchange and "shooting galleries"
where they can give themselves their fix.

'Attractiveness fading for young people'

The new approach has medicalised drug use and removed its glamour,
researchers say. Crime and deaths linked with drugs have fallen, and
the image of heroin use has been transformed from a rebellious act to
an illness that needs therapy.

"Finally, heroin seems to have become a loser drug, with its
attractiveness fading for young people," Carlos Nordt, of the
Psychiatric University Hospital in Zurich, said.

The Lancet accuses the British government of resisting reforms such
as the introduction of drug consumption rooms - safe injecting houses
where addicts can take their fix - which are contributing to
Britain's death rate from illegal drug use, the highest in Europe.

Their introduction was first recommended by the Home Affairs Select
Committee in 2002. Last week a report from the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation, backed by police chiefs, urged the government to act.
"After four years and thousands of needless drug-related deaths, a
thorough trial of drug consumption rooms is a requirement the
government cannot afford to refuse a second time," the Lancet says in
an editorial.

Responding to the report, Vernon Coaker, the Home Office minister,
reiterated the government's objection that drug consumption rooms
risked increasing localised dealing and anti-social behaviour.

The Tories said they would consider the proposal. Edward Garner,
shadow home affairs minister, said: "If this is to be used as a
stepping stone to actually getting people off drugs we will look at
it carefully."

There are an estimated 280 000 drug users in the UK, most taking
heroin and crack cocaine, and about 2 500 deaths a year.

Professor John Strang, director of the National Addiction Centre at
the Maudsley, said: "If there is something magical about what the
Swiss have done it is not handing out the heroin - it is the heroin
mixed with routine and drudgery. All the drugs are consumed on the
premises and the patients have to come in three times a day for their
dose. It is extremely medicalised.

"The rebellious nature of drug use has been institutionalised - in
the same way that punk was institutionalised when it was adopted by
the fashion industry."

Writing in The Lancet, Nordt and his colleague Rudolf Stohler say
drug use in Zurich rose rapidly from 80 new registered users in 1975
to 850 new users in 1990. It culminated in open drug scenes at the
Platzspitz ("Needle Park") and subsequently at the former railway
station Letten.

Since 1991, when substitution treatment became available to all
heroin users, the number of new addicts has dropped sharply to 150 in
2002. The overall number of heroin addicts has declined by 4% a year,
even though the average length of time each user spends on the drug
has increased.

The researchers say the finding counters critics of the liberal
approach who predicted that it would increase drug use. Despite
giving addicts readier access to the drugs they want, drug use has
fallen. Deaths from overdoses and drug seizures have also declined, they say.

Supporters of the approach hailed the study yesterday as evidence
that the policy works. Drug use in the UK continues to rise, figures show.

Victor Adebowale, chief executive of drugs charity Turning Point,
said: "Heroin prescribing should be part of the mix of getting people
to succeed in treatment. Experience abroad has shown that prescribing
heroin helps to stabilise some users who have tried and failed with a
methadone prescription, and have been in and out of detox and rehab."

A spokeswoman for Drugscope said: "We would very much like to see
heroin prescribing extended here. There is a lot of international
evidence that it can help entrenched drug users to stabilise their
habit and move to a drug free lifestyle." - The Independent