Community Campaign for Heroin Reform

History

CCHR was formed in April of this year as a broad-based community campaign to address the horrendous state of affairs surrounding illegal heroin use. We number almost one hundred members and come from diverse backgrounds including users, parents, students, traders, etc. The group is committed to saving people's lives and bringing about changes in the government policy on drugs, most notably in the treatment of people addicted to heroin.

CCHR is a grass roots action group. We have held two successful rallies; each attended by up to two hundred people. On the 4th June we set up a medicinal table and information stall outside the Otter Street toilet block in Collingwood (a known spot for heroin users) from 12.00 pm to 9.00 pm. The purpose of this action was to make it safer for users by handing out clean syringes, swabs and information dealing with health and legal issues, and secondly, by monitoring the toilets we were able to help dispose of used syringes and provide assistance through trained health professionals who were on-hand in case of any overdoses. The stall was quite successful, receiving widespread media coverage and obtaining hundreds of signatures to our petition calling for a safe injecting venue to be set up in the area.

In the interests of the users, the people we are trying to help, it was decided to pursue a different course of action after the 4th June. Rather than drive the users out of the safest place in the area to inject, CCHR decided to move its weekly stall away from Otter Street but continues to monitor the toilet blocks and remove used syringes each half-hour on Friday between 3:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Aims

[ Education | Treatment Programs | Safe Injecting Facilities |
Heroin Trials | Increased Needle Exchange Facilities ]

Education

We aim to educate the community about heroin and in doing so, remove the stigma and prejudice associated with its use and many victims. Heroin addiction should be seen and treated as a health issue, not a legal one. Police crackdowns and imprisonment only serve to further alienate users from the wider community.

Treatment Programs

More money needs to be spent increasing the number of beds available in detoxification and rehabilitation clinics. The waiting time for users is far too long and discourages many from seeking urgently needed treatment. On average it takes two weeks to get into a six-day detox program and anywhere between three to six months to get into a rehabilitation program. This is not good enough! People who need help should be able to access these facilities immediately.

Safe injecting Facilities

CCHR strongly supports the establishment of safe injecting facilities, along the same lines as the Wayside Chapel in Sydney, initially in the Collingwood/Fitzroy area. The death toll from heroin-related overdoses is almost in line with the road toll, even though over 80% of the community use the roads and less than 3% use heroin. The area in and around Smith Street has one of the highest rates of heroin overdoses in Australia.

The State Parliament Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee proposed the "setting up of injecting facilities in areas such as Fitzroy, Collingwood, St Kilda, the CBD, Footscray, Springvale and Box Hill." According to the report, "ambulances were called to revive 205 overdoses victims in Fitzroy and Collingwood between July and October last year (1998)... at an estimated cost of $600.00 per attendance. Opening a safe injecting room in Smith Street, Collingwood would save more than $360,000.00 each year in ambulance costs alone. The committee recommends safe injecting rooms as part of an overall approach of minimising the harm from illegal drugs." (The Melbourne Times, 9/6/1999).

People who are addicted to heroin, especially those who buy off the street desperately need a place nearby where they can inject safely without fear of arrest or overdose. At the moment the toilet block in Otter Street is about all the addicts in the Fitzroy/Collingwood area have. A safe injecting facility staffed by medical practitioners is surely a safer and more cost-effective option. If a person does overdose they could be revived and if need be, taken to hospital. Almost all fatal heroin overdoses occur when the person uses alone, in a dangerous environment. A safe injecting facility could help prevent this.

Heroin Trials

CCHR believe that a safe injecting facility is the first step forward in what is a long-term campaign to effect real drug reform in this country. We strongly support the introduction of monitored heroin trials such as those adopted by the Swiss government and rejected by John Howard. This would involve the legal administration of heroin to registered addicts through prescription and under medical supervision.

Increased Needle Exchange Facilities

The Inner City Needle Exchange (on the corner of Smith and Gertrude Streets in Collingwood) has recently established a Syringe Disposal Hotline whereby residents and traders in the area can call 9417 5125 at any time to have someone collect and safely dispose of used syringes. CCHR believe that more initiatives along these lines need to be introduced (and funded) by governments and local councils.

Politics

The "Zero Tolerance" approach taken by the Prime Minister is clearly the wrong way to tackle the drug problem; all it does is further stigmatise, alienate and increase the high number of people currently in jail because of drug related crime (over 80% in the USA). Howard has taken his cue from law enforcement officials in America. How successful has this been? According to the US Justice Department: "one in every 150 Americans is incarcerated. By next year, nearly two million will be behind bars, giving this country the highest imprisonment rate in the world.", ("Losing the Drugs War", The Age, 8/5/1999). Is this the path we want to take? Pour massive amounts of money into law enforcement and prisons, rather than helping people deal with their drug problems. If just a fraction of the law enforcement budget was spent on treating people instead of in incarcerating them, CCHR believes that the harm caused by drugs could be minimised.

Economics

The Smith Street Traders Association has informed CCHR that traders are losing on average $1,000.00 a week as a direct result of the continuing drug problem in that area. It is obvious that many shoppers are scared away because of the heroin stigma associate with Smith Street. In Switzerland, due to the huge economic impact of the drug problem, the retail community lobbied the government to establish safe injecting facilities and set up heroin trials.

Where to from here?

CCHR is determined to open a safe injecting facility in the Collingwood/Fitzroy area. We hope that this can be done with the support of the government but are prepared to become involved in civil disobedience if the need arises. Until our aims are realised, the group will continue to lobby all levels of government, hold public rallies, hand out literature and clean needles at stalls in Smith Street and collect signatures for our petition.

Plans are under way for a Community Awareness Day to be held in mid-August. Planned speakers will include representatives from local drug agencies, the legal and medical profession and politicians. We hope that this will provide fresh impetus for all concerned to get together and work collectively to affect real heroin reform.

Getting involved

We urge everyone, especially those who are directly affected by the heroin problem to get involved with this campaign. Please come along to our meetings, which are held each Wednesday at 7.00 pm at the RMIT Student Union, Swanston Street, City. You can contribute to the campaign by sending a cheque or money order made payable to CCHR, PO Box 1015, Collingwood, Vic 3066 or by making a donation at any branch of the Commonwealth Bank (branch number is 3262, the account number is 102 117 38, the account is held at the Swanston Street Branch). For further information please call 9654 3636.

Now read the CCHR fact sheet.