BEATTIE SOFTENS DRUGS STANCE

SMALL-time drug users caught with heroin, cocaine and amphetamines will
escape conviction under a State Government plan to divert them to treatment
programs. State Cabinet yesterday approved extending the existing cannabis
diversion program to hard drugs and won immediate support from drug
agencies and other political parties.

Under a 12-month trial set to begin in November, magistrates will have the
power to send people caught with small quantities of hard drugs to
education and treatment programs.

A conviction will be recorded only if a person fails to complete the program.

To qualify for the trial, an offender must admit guilt, be assessed as
suitable for drug intervention and have no prior convictions or charges for
serious or violent offences.

Premier Peter Beattie yesterday said critics who suggested the Government
had gone soft on drugs were wrong and called on Queenslanders to support
the program. He said the trial was aimed at reducing drug-related crime
through early intervention, a claim supported by community drug agencies.
"This is a sensible and rational approach to get people off drugs and
reduce crime," Mr Beattie said. "We know there will be a political downside
but this is the right policy.

We believe it will work."

The trial, which will be jointly funded and run by the Commonwealth, is in
line with a national strategy to divert minor drug offenders into
rehabilitation and keep them out of jail. The policy, agreed to at a 1999
meeting of federal, state and territory governments, has been progressively
introduced across the country.

Most other states already have diversion programs for minor illicit drug users.

In Queensland, police currently have the power to direct first-time
offenders caught with cannabis to rehabilitation and a trial of drug courts
is also under way.

Opposition Leader Mike Horan said yesterday he supported the hard drugs
trial but called on the Government to ensure it was strictly monitored.
"It's important to get people off drugs without heavy-handed penalties, but
we have to make sure it doesn't turn into a soft option," Mr Horan said.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation chief executive Bob Aldred welcomed the plan
and backed more controversial proposals, such as safe injecting rooms, to
battle drug use. "We believe it makes a lot of sense as it can stop people
getting into a situation where they are in the criminal system and
fraternising with more serious drug users," Mr Aldred said. "You are not
going to get a 100 per cent success rate, but you will get the people who
will come, comply and benefit from the program." Drug Arm Australia health
promotion co-ordinator Judith Hart also praised the move but warned
diversionary programs were not a panacea for the state's drug problem.

And while she commended the State Government for being proactive, she said
boosted resources needed to be in place before the program started in November.

Attorney-General Rod Welford said a survey at the Brisbane watchhouse found
80 per cent of inmates had committed their alleged offence after drinking
or taking drugs. "This is about ensuring that people who are starting to
use drugs in a way that will lead to a life of crime are diverted from that
drug use," he said.