HEALTH SUPPORT FOR DRUG USERS LAX IN REGIONAL AREAS

A survey has found injecting drug users in country centres find it
harder to access clean equipment and face greater discrimination than
their city counterparts.

The national Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New
South Wales interviewed more than 250 users for its survey.

One of the authors, Kate Dolan, says rural-based addicts find it more
expensive to buy new needles and syringes.

Professor Dolan says it is also more difficult to access testing for
HIV and hepatitis C in rural areas.

"We did find the rural drug users were facing a little bit more
discrimination in the health care setting that might be putting them
off," she said.

"People were making derogatory comments about them or making them wait
longer - just not providing health care in a non-judgmental way."

Professor Dolan says the types of drugs being used by drug addicts is
also different in country areas.

"The country users are more likely to be injecting morphine and
benzodiazopines, whereas the city users are more likely to be
injecting heroin," she said.

"Because the supply of drugs in the country varies - it's easier to
get heroin in the cities than it is in small country towns."