NO DRUG ROOMS - SHOOTING GALLERIES RULED OUT

The State Government Has Rejected Safe Heroin Injecting Rooms In WA.

A source said the Government had decided against such a facility because WA
did not have an open drug injecting culture like Sydney's Kings Cross,
where Australia's first legal heroin injecting room opened in May.

A key recommendation from the Community Drug Summit in August was for the
Government to consider a safe drug injecting room, taking into account
community opinion and the different patterns of drug use in WA.

The Government will reveal its response to the summit's recommendations today.

It is understood to have taken advice on an injecting facility but ruled it
was inappropriate for now.

WA Substance Users Association manager Tamara Speed said she was not
surprised because the Government refused to believe WA had a drug injecting
culture.

"They do not believe that it is happening - all they have to do is talk to
users," Ms Speed said.

"There are people scoring and using on the streets, exposing themselves to
bacterial and blood-borne infections."

Services were not given enough support.

"We have two needle exchange programs that have closed down because we
can't get public liability insurance," Ms Speed said.

WA Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies director Jill Rundle said she
would be disappointed if the Government put the idea on the shelf without
exploring it further.

The decision means two of the three key recommendations from the 100 summit
delegates have hit a brick wall.

The summit also urged a government-run trial providing heroin to addicts
and the softening of cannabis laws.

Delegates recommended that a small number of addicts who had not responded
to other treatment be given the drug by their doctor.

They wanted the trial to include detailed evaluation and full clinical and
social support.

But the State Government does not have the power to introduce a
prescription heroin trial. Only the Federal Government can approve the
supply of heroin to the States.

Prime Minister John Howard said in August that there would be no heroin
trial while he was in charge and those who advocated it were misguided.

He was commenting after National Crime Authority chairman Gary Crooke QC
called for a trial, saying police alone were powerless to stop the drug trade.

The proposed cannabis law reform relates to an extension of the cautioning
system.