Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

Coalition will offer more drug withdrawal units, opposed to ‘injecting houses’

A Coalition Government will set up four new residential drug withdrawal units for young people so that drug workers can take more addicts from the court system into treatment.

Health Minister Rob Knowles announced the $3 million move following the release of an evaluation of the State’s pioneering Drugs Diversion program, which calls for the "first warning" system to be implemented statewide.

"Most police strongly support the program: it boosts their morale to send first time drug offenders into treatment instead of back to the streets," Mr Knowles said.

"Drug treatment workers welcomed the improved links with police and the ability to help early drug-users before addiction becomes entrenched.

"The State Government will extend the program statewide so that all people caught by police with illicit drugs, where it is not associated with another crime, will go to treatment instead of the courts.

"To ensure that treatment is available, it will put another $3 million into four services: Moreland Hall, the Windana Society, St Vincents Drug Department and the Drug and Alcohol services of the North Western Health Care Network," he said.

Mr Knowles said the Coalition considered increased withdrawal services, and better links with police, to be a more appropriate response to the drugs tragedy than setting up supervised injecting rooms.

"State Cabinet has considered the legal and moral implications of supervised injecting houses, it has listened to the legal views of the police, and it has decided to maintain its opposition to them at this point.

"However the State Government is working with a number of agencies to develop better primary health services to support chaotic drug users until they reach the point of wishing to break their addiction," he said.

The Government has already announced $170,000 for statewide workshops for friends, family and addicts themselves to learn how to minimise the harm of heroin use. These are to begin in September.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Health, 29 August 1999)