Illicit drugs taskforce report

Minister for Health and Community Services Jane Aagaard has released the report of the Illicit Drugs Taskforce, saying it marks another important milestone in the fight against illicit drug use in the Territory.

“The release of the Report… addresses the issues of education, support and treatment for users of illicit drugs such as heroin, amphetamines and illegally acquired prescription drugs,” Mrs Aagaard said.

“The Government has allocated $500,000 this year for the implementation of the taskforce findings”.

The Network Against Prohibition’s (NAP) Gary Meyerhoff said the Report was a step in the right direction, “but falls well short in terms of adequately addressing the needs of dependent opiate users in the NT”.

“NAP strongly support the establishment of a methadone maintenance program in the Northern Territory, however, a range of options need to be available to dependent drug users,” Mr Meyerhoff said.

Mrs Aagaard said there are between 1000 and 4000 intravenous drug users in the Territory and the Government is committed to addressing the issue which has been ignored for far too long.

Key initiatives to be implemented include:

• Support programs which will include the employment of additional specialist health professionals such as nurses, a pharmacist, a psychologist, a liaison worker and a doctor,

• The establishment of a 24 hour hotline to provide support and advice to individuals, families, health professionals as well as an enhanced education program,

• Changes to legislation to allow maintenance programs which include the Commonwealth approved range of pharmacotherapies such as buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone. Buprenorphine will be the drug of first preference for treating drug users, and

• Improving the capacity of existing service providers to better cater for the needs of drug dependent patients.

Mrs Aagaard said the adoption of the Taskforce findings will bring the Territory into line with laws and practices available in other jurisdictions.

However, NAP said the Government is relying on two drugs (buprenorphine and methadone) to act as magic bullets, without providing appropriate detoxification services.

“Although we support the use of methadone, it is an extremely addictive drug and has serious withdrawal effects,” Mr Meyerhoff said.

“We argue strongly for pharmaceutical quality heroin (diacetylmorphine) to be made available to dependent and recreational users in the Territory.

“Trials of heroin have been successful in Europe and the NT was well placed to follow this lead with the establishment of the Illicit Drugs Taskforce.

“The major flaw in the Government’s strategy is that they ran the taskforce on illicit drugs in concert with a major police offensive on drug users in the NT.

“This police offensive is seriously impacting on the ability of drug users to reduce drug related harm.

“If they were serious about addressing problematic drug use in our community they would start by ending the incarceration of generation after generation of young people due to draconian drug laws,” Mr Meyerhoff said.

Mr Meyerhoff said that the closure of a residential detoxification centre in Coconut Grove would make it difficult for dependent users to get support for detoxification. He said that users who attempted to detox at home would have difficulty in getting the support that they needed in a safe space.

However, a spokesman for the Health Minister said that there were other residential detox services that users could access, including Banyan House, Royal Darwin Hospital and Amity House.

He said the Coconut Grove service had received little patronage, and now operated as an outreach centre.

The spokesman said that the new pharmacotherapies would be available from the end of the week, and people would be able to access them through their health care professionals.

He said a number of general practitioners had undertaken training to learn about prescribing the drugs.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: 25th September 2002
Source: Litchfield Times (Northern Territory, Australia)