Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jul 2000
Source: West Australian (Australia)
Copyright: 2000 West Australian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  +61 8 94823830
Website: http://thewest.com.au/redirect.shtml
Author: Simon Lenton
Note: SIMON LENTON is a research fellow of the National Drug Research 
Institute, Curtin University.

SHOW COMPASSION

WHILE I think it is unfortunate that Dr Carnley has blurred the issues of 
supervised injecting facilities and the prescription of 
pharmaceutical-grade heroin to some registered users; he brings two 
important perspectives to the debate. These are compassion and a 
willingness to consider a range of options in grappling with this important 
problem.

His views are in sharp contrast to the vociferous "not with my taxes" and 
"send them to work camps" comments of some of the correspondents to The 
West Australian (Letters, 19/7). Presumably these people would also want 
over-eaters, players of contact sports, speeders, drunk drivers, cigarette 
smokers and others excluded from publicly funded health services. Is that 
the kind of society in which we want to live?
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