HARDLINERS ON DRUGS GIVE NO HEED TO THE EVIL THEY DO

Like Neil Lade (CT 10/04 p B7) I too recall my son's untimely death to a
heroin overdose. An incident 2 weeks before he died made me realise that
our present prohibition drug laws were wrong. Naively, it now seems, I
thought this could change if the catastrophic consequences of these laws
were explained to our law makers and community. But, like Neil, I too look
back over the past 11 years and see that there has been little real change.

I wonder about the proposed ACT Heroin Trial which almost went ahead in
1997. Those who were severely addicted would have been on medically
prescribed heroin. There would have been no need for them to sell to new
recruits. They would not be robbing our homes. Their lifestyle would now
be less chaotic and more orderly. It might not have solved all our problems
but at least it could have made a dent in the black market. But a
visionless Prime Minister would not even allow a scientific trial.

But it has not only been the weakness of the Federal Government. Locally the
much anticipated Supervised Injecting Centre legislated in 1999 never
eventuated. Even the much-needed redevelopment of the Karralika
rehabilitation Centre seems to have been shelved.

But there is one group that is certain to flourish - organised crime trading
in drugs. Sadly it is equally certain that the drug users, their families
and the community will continue to suffer.

M. McConnell