Pubdate: Tue, 18 May 1999 Source: Canberra Times (Australia) Contact: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/ Author: B. McConnell WE MUST FIND SOME BETTER SOLUTIONS ON MONDAY, May 10, the Prime Minister made an address to the nation about drugs. Except for the statement that "We must hold our nerve", there was nothing remarkable in this self-praise statement that promoted the injection of funds by the Government, funds to more or less do more of the same. Now we must remember that there is no evidence that the additional injection of funds is making a difference to the one significant measure of success of the policies the number dying. Overdose deaths have continued to rise and there is no sign that they are abating. Desperate parents recognise government failure in this area and are taking matters into their own hands by providing safe injecting places for their children. The Wayside Chapel attempted to do the same until police harassment forced the closure of the T Room. It is usually in the context of a war where the general who, faced with an ever-mounting death toll, urges his troops to "hold their nerve" and fight to the last. The death by overdose of a 40-year-old man near the toilets of the Wayside Chapel on the day after the forced closure will be the first of many more "expendable" people caused by those who dogmatically "hold their nerve" but who fail to even attempt to find a better solution. B. McCONNELL Higgins - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck