Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jul 2000
Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
Copyright: News Limited 2000
Contact:  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
Author: John Ferguson

INJECTION SITE TURNS TO CLINIC

WESLEY Central Mission's once doomed heroin facility could be saved under a 
surprise compromise plan to treat city addicts.It could now be used as a 
primary drug health clinic to treat heroin users around the notorious 
Russell St drug zone.

Drug adviser Professor David Penington has backed the idea if the deeply 
divided Melbourne City Council rejects a heroin injection facility.

He said the Wesley site could be used as a full drug clinic but not as a 
place to inject.

The revelation came as Labor leader Kim Beazley yesterday changed his mind 
on the issue of testing legalised heroin, saying he now supports the idea.

He said he also backed supervised heroin injecting rooms and subsidised 
Naltrexone programs.

A United Nations report has condemned the Federal Government's inability to 
stop states and territories from establishing supervised injecting rooms.

Released by the Federal Government, the International Narcotics Control 
Board report notes: "The policy in Australia to reduce harm caused by drugs 
has, unfortunately, not led to a reduction of drug abuse and trafficking 
during the last decade."

Mr Beazley admitted there would be potential legal problems with a trial of 
legalised heroin.

But he said: "You've got to try a whole range of things to get people 
unhooked."

Dr Penington said any injection clinic should be away from Russell St, 
possibly at the Spencer St end of town. But the Wesley site was ideally 
placed for a health clinic as part of a broad agenda to provide better 
health and overdose services across the state.

"If in fact the MCC decides not to go ahead with an injection facility then 
the answer might well be a primary health care facility for drug users on 
the Wesley site," he said.

Dr Penington described the controversy over the Wesley site as a "debacle" 
but the building was ideally placed to perform all the functions except 
injecting.

Services that could be offered in a primary health clinic include needle 
exchange, methadone treatment, counselling and basic medical treatment.

The idea would be to encourage users into the health system so their 
addictions can be treated as a medical problem.

The Wesley Central Mission site in Lonsdale St is already being used to 
treat heroin users. It was the large number of overdose victims that 
gathered on the site for help that led to the building of the heroin 
injection clinic.

The site's chief opponent, lawyer Peter Faris, said any move to use Wesley 
as a drug health facility would be fought.

"This is a back door injecting room," he said.

Wesley Central Mission managing director Judy Leitch said use of the site 
was a matter for the mission board. But she said much of the work carried 
out on the site in a portable building was to do with primary health care 
matters for users.
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