MEDIA RELEASE:

Germany has now joined Switzerland, The Netherlands, Denmark and the
United Kingdom in making prescription heroin a standard treatment for those
severely addicted to opiates who have failed other treatments.

“The German decision challenges Australia to remove John Howard’s veto of
this medical treatment and put humanity and social well-being first,” said Brian
McConnell, President of Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform. “The veto
of the decision of the Australian Health Ministers in 1997 for a heroin trial
must be reviewed in the light of the rising number of overdose deaths and the
threat of a renewed flood of Afghan heroin.”

The German parliament passed the law last Thursday evening following a
careful trial and evaluation in 6 cities. Eligible persons for admission to the
treatment will be those over 23 years of age and who have been addicted for
more than five years and who have failed to respond to other treatments.
“Australia has now fallen far behind the Europeans,” said Brian McConnell,
President of Families and Friends for Drug Law reform. “The result has been a
huge cost to the community in terms of lives lost, health care costs and costs of
crime.”
“There is now irrefutable European evidence,” said Mr McConnell, “that
adding the option of heroin prescription cuts overdose deaths, improves the
capacity of severely addicted users to take responsibility for their lives and
reduces crime dramatically. A long term Swiss study has even shown that it is
leading to a reduction in the recruitment of new drug users.”
“The Europeans are about providing health treatment to severely addicted
people for whom all other treatments have failed,” said Mr McConnell. “These
are people who have families and loved ones and if there is a treatment that
would help restore and enable them to again become contributing members of
society then surely Australian governments should give that treatment a go.”
“Excuses for not introducing it have become baseless given the overwhelming
evidence that now exists in support of the measures. Attracting the severely
addicted into treatment, away from recruiting and selling to new users to
support their habit, will surely allay parents’ and governments’ concerns about
the provision of this treatment.”

“It can undermine organised crime’s profit from heroin, which is critical at a
time when world production of heroin is increasing.

“Much is to be gained with this common sense measure: there are lives to be
saved, individuals’ health to improve and and a huge potential for reduced crime
and trafficking in illegal heroin.”