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 < Back War on Drugs Needs Reassessment August 2nd 2004 The Carr government should investigate the decriminalization of heroin in small quantities for personal use and establish a trial Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) in the Redfern/Waterloo area, according to a dissenting statement by NSW Democrat MLC, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans. Dr Chesterfield-Evans is the sole minor party member of the Parliamentary Inquiry into issues relating to Redfern/Waterloo that released an Interim report today. Respected community leaders such as Reverend Bill Crews, the Member for Canterbury, Ms Linda Burney and Sydney Lord Mayor, Mrs Clover Moore supported such an initiative when asked to give evidence before the committee earlier this year. "The allocation of resources in the war against drugs should be re-assessed and this should be subject to further investigation by experts in the fields of public health, crime prevention and drug rehabilitation with input from the general public. I want a sensible, open and informed public debate on how to break the cycle of hard drug addiction and crime and this inquiry should help to start that debate," he said. "The danger of HIV/Aids transmission and the importance of a needle exchange programme as a means to mitigate infection rates was recognised by the Committee. So I am disappointed that the Committee saw fit to interfere in the issue regarding the location of the needle van. It is important that public policy be guided by the best available evidence, not 'nimby' shock-jock radio talk back," he said. "I am an anti-tobacco campaigner. I hate drugs and the disastrous effects they have not only on the body and soul of the addict, but on the their families, friends and the community as a whole as we have seen in Cabramatta and Redfern. Harm-minimisation plays an extremely important role in the war against drugs but does not receive the financial support it needs," Dr Chesterfield-Evans concluded. |
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updated:
August 5, 2004
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