VIC: Safe injecting rooms could increase: Thwaites

AAP General News (Australia)
02-01-2000
VIC: Safe injecting rooms could increase: Thwaites

MELBOURNE, Feb 1 AAP - The Victorian Government will consider expanding their safe
drug injecting room program if their five initial trial facilities prove successful.

Acting Premier and Health Minister John Thwaites said Melbourne's first injecting rooms
could open as early as July.

The government's expert drug policy committee is expected to deliver its final recommendations
on the facilities in March or April.

Mr Thwaites said the government would respond to the report as quickly as possible
and, if the 18-month trial proved successful, they could expand the facilities beyond
the five original rooms.

"We will evaluate the program, see how it works," Mr Thwaites told radio 3AW.

"If it's been successful, we'd consider more - it may be that that's enough."

The government has named the city, Fitzroy, St Kilda, Footscray and Springvale as sites
for the safe injecting rooms.

Meanwhile, Mr Thwaites said he was undecided about the worth of an anti-heroin TV advertisement
by Open Family involving a 16-year-old girl.

Television stations have so far refused to use the ads.

"The international evidence, according to the experts, is that there are some risks
about these sort of advertising campaigns," he said.

"Sure, they will put some young people off taking drugs, but they might actually attract others.

"If you make something like drug taking look - certainly not glamorous, but dangerous,
some people are attracted to it."

However, Mr Thwaites said it may be worth trying.

Heroin addict Ian told 3AW that the only way to stop drug users was for them to decide
themselves to quit.

He said while people could put support in place to help drug addicts, it was worthless.

"You can spend all the money in the world on helping a drug addict, but money is just
going to go down the drain," he said.

"You can't do anything for me - I've got to do it."

Ian, 33, who claimed he had been using heroin since he was 14, said he was on a suicide
mission every time he injected heroin.

He said he was making another attempt to quit.

AAP ljm/er/bar/de

KEYWORD: HEROIN VIC DAYLEAD

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