Pubdate: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 Source: West Australian (Australia) Fax: +61 8 94823830 Author: Alex Wodak GIVE IT A TRY, MRS PARKER IT IS sad that Rhonda Parker, the minister responsible for WA’s drug abuse strategy, said that the distinguished European researcher, Professor Ambros Uchtenhagen, confessed privately to her that he was under pressure to produce results. This has been rejected by the professor. Will Mrs Parker stop at nothing while she tries to hold up an important Australian scientific evaluation of prescription heroin? When this research does finally go ahead in Australia, prescription heroin could save lives, reduce crime, attract reluctant heroin users into treatment and also save scarce resources. We will never know whether prescription heroin works until we try. If we find it does not work in Australia, then we know that we have to keep on trying to find other effective ways of reducing the toll from heroin injecting in this country. If prescription heroin works, we can add it to the list of treatments (including abstinence treatments) but reserve it for people where every other treatment has been tried and has not worked. Dr ALEX WODAX, president, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, Darlinghurst, NSW. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck