Pubdate: Fri, 9 Apr 1999
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Contact:  http://www.smh.com.au/
Author: Linda Doherty

CARR PROMISES ACTION RATHER THAN WORDS ON DRUGS SCOURGE

Drug addicts and their families will address State Parliament next
month during the five-day drug summit, which the Premier pledged
yesterday would be a "call to action" rather than a talkfest.

Mr Carr, who presents his seven-point drugs plan to the Premiers'
Conference today, received bipartisan support from the Opposition
Leader, Mrs Chikarovski, for the NSW summit he promised during the
election campaign.

Sixty drug experts, community leaders, families and interest groups
will address Parliament from May 17 to 21.

A month later the Government would release a plan with "concrete
actions" to tackle the drugs scourge, Mr Carr said. "We all have a
responsibility to stop drugs stealing the lives of our young people
and destroying our families and communities," he said. "There are no
simple solutions."

Mr Carr favours a comprehensive approach to fighting drugs that looks
at unemployment, family breakdown, treatment options for drug addicts
and getting drug users into rehabilitation.

Mrs Chikarovski said the Opposition was determined to work with the
Government to come up with solutions.

"Drugs is without doubt the single most important social problem we
face in this country, and especially in this State," she said. "The
issue should not be used as a political football." Mr Carr said he
would meet Mrs Chikarovski to discuss the structure of the summit.

It will include addresses to Parliament, working groups, panel
discussions and field trips to inspect the Drug Court experiment at
Parramatta Court, a methadone clinic, treatment facilities and needle
exchange outlets.

Mr Carr will today push his State counterparts and the Prime Minister
for funding to expand the Drug Court scheme in NSW, in which
non-violent, addicted offenders are put into rehabilitation rather
than in jail. He would also push for a faster trial of drugs that
broke dependency, such as naltrexone, he said. A major randomised
clinical trial of the drug will begin this year at Westmead Hospital.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Derek Rea