Pubdate: Tue, 18 May 1999 Source: Illawarra Mercury (Australia) Copyright: Illawarra Newspapers Contact: http://mercury.illnews.com.au/ SUMMIT TOLD: 12 A WEEK WILL DIE In the week of Sydney's drug summit, Australians will spend several hundred thousand dollars on illicit drugs and, on average, 12 will die with needle marks in their arms. It came as no surprise then to hear Premier Bob Carr state the bold truth: drug use, legal and illegal, is part of our society and our culture, ``part of the Australian way of life''. During summit week ambulance officers will attend 87 drug overdoses in NSW alone. Almost 14,000 people will receive drug treatment, 70 will be admitted to hospital because of illicit drug use, 600 for alcohol-related illness and 950 for tobacco-related illness. So grave is the problem that summiteers will do well by Friday afternoon to grasp the extent of the problem and reach some sort of consensus on mapping the fight ahead. ``The worst outcome would be to make no progress,'' said co-chair Joan Kirner, the former Victorian premier. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea