Pubdate: Wed, 29 Nov 2000
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2000 David Syme & Co Ltd
Contact:  250 Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia
Website: http://www.theage.com.au/
Forum: http://forums.f2.com.au/login/login.asp?board=TheAge-Talkback
Author: Adrian Rollins, State Political Reporter

PLAN TO REDUCE WAIT FOR DRUG ABUSE HELP

Drug users who opted to kick their habit would get detoxification and 
withdrawal treatment in less than 10 days under new targets set by the 
Victorian Government.

The proposal is part of a $77 million package announced by the government 
yesterday to tackle Victoria's drug problem through public education, 
treatment, rehabilitation and prevention.

The package was developed by the government in response to the 
recommendations of the Drug Expert Policy Committee, headed by Dr David 
Penington.

Among the measures announced yesterday were commitments to:

Double the number of drug treatment beds from 400 to 800.

Employ an extra 500 drug workers.

Divert 7000 drug offenders annually from courts into treatment.

Ensure at least 50per cent of seriously dependent heroin users are linked 
to drug treatment services each year.

Premier Steve Bracks said it could take years to reduce the impact of drugs 
on society, as there were no "silver bullet solutions".

"One of the biggest social issues in Victoria is drug misuse and the 
horrific toll (it is) taking," he said. "Already this year there have been 
300 deaths. That is totally unacceptable in a civilised community..."

Mr Bracks said the government had a role to play in tackling the problem, 
but it required the involvement of the entire community.

"We are calling for a mighty effort from everyone because this problem is 
our problem and we must face it together," he said.

Mr Bracks said a key commitment was to ensure people who wanted to give up 
drugs had the shortest possible wait for treatment.

To help achieve this aim, the government would establish 15 mobile drug 
response services, costing $3 million, to provide street-level support and 
access to treatment.

Mr Bracks said the government would also continue improving the 
availability of treatment services.

Health Minister John Thwaites said the waiting time for drug withdrawal 
services had been cut by 60per cent in recent years.

In 1996, the number of drug withdrawal beds had fallen to 200, rising to 
just over 300 in 1999. This had left drug users waiting for up to 30 days 
for treatment.

Mr Thwaites said that an expansion in treatment services in the past 12 
months had already cut waiting times to 12 days, but the government was 
aiming to cut this to under 10.

The government has adopted the majority of the Penington committee's 
recommendations, but rejected a call to repeal laws that make personal use 
of heroin an offence.

Opposition health spokesman Robert Doyle said that while some of the new 
measures were welcome, the government was "raising the white flag on drugs 
before they have really begun to fight".

He said it was unacceptable that users might have to wait for up to 10 days 
for treatment and called for the government to commit sufficient resources 
to eliminate delays.

But Dr Penington said he was delighted with the government's "rapid and 
very constructive response" to his committee's final report.

He was pleased that the initiative emphasised the important role of local 
councils and communities in tackling drug abuse and pledged to fund them 
adequately.

He said the government's aim to reduce the waiting period for treatment to 
10 days was reasonable.

Paul McDonald, the executive director of Victoria's Youth Substance Abuse 
Service, welcomed the government's initiative, saying it had acknowledged 
the needs of individual drug users and poured money into treatment services 
that could lead them out of addiction.

But he said he was disappointed the government had baulked at repealing the 
section of the law that deals with administering illicit drugs.

Dr Penington had hoped this would encourage heroin users to dispose safely 
of their syringes and that it would help eliminate the public nuisance 
associated with injecting drug use.

The Mayor of Port Phillip, Julian Hill, said the government's response 
contained "more money, if anything, than we anticipated or expected", and 
he was particularly pleased with the focus on prevention.
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