Are the times a-changing?

[gomaos]

The Courier Mail, Brisbane, today:

Beattie softens drugs stance

Rosemary Odgers and Craig Spann

16jul02

SMALL-time drug users caught with heroin, cocaine and amphetamines will escape conviction under a State Government plan to divert them to treatment programs. Advertisement

State Cabinet yesterday approved extending the existing cannabis diversion program to hard drugs and won immediate support from drug agencies and other political parties.

Under a 12-month trial set to begin in November, magistrates will have the power to send people caught with small quantities of hard drugs to education and treatment programs.

A conviction will be recorded only if a person fails to complete the program.

To qualify for the trial, an offender must admit guilt, be assessed as suitable for drug intervention and have no prior convictions or charges for serious or violent offences.

Premier Peter Beattie yesterday said critics who suggested the Government had gone soft on drugs were wrong and called on Queenslanders to support the program.

He said the trial was aimed at reducing drug-related crime through early intervention, a claim supported by community drug agencies.

"This is a sensible and rational approach to get people off drugs and reduce crime," Mr Beattie said.

"We know there will be a political downside but this is the right policy. We believe it will work."

The trial, which will be jointly funded and run by the Commonwealth, is in line with a national strategy to divert minor drug offenders into rehabilitation and keep them out of jail.

The policy, agreed to at a 1999 meeting of federal, state and territory governments, has been progressively introduced across the country.

Most other states already have diversion programs for minor illicit drug users.

In Queensland, police currently have the power to direct first-time offenders caught with cannabis to rehabilitation and a trial of drug courts is also under way.

Opposition Leader Mike Horan said yesterday he supported the hard drugs trial but called on the Government to ensure it was strictly monitored.

"It's important to get people off drugs without heavy-handed penalties, but we have to make sure it doesn't turn into a soft option," Mr Horan said.

Alcohol and Drug Foundation chief executive Bob Aldred welcomed the plan and backed more controversial proposals, such as safe injecting rooms, to battle drug use.

"We believe it makes a lot of sense as it can stop people getting into a situation where they are in the criminal system and fraternising with more serious drug users," Mr Aldred said.

"You are not going to get a 100 per cent success rate, but you will get the people who will come, comply and benefit from the program."

Drug Arm Australia health promotion co-ordinator Judith Hart also praised the move but warned diversionary programs were not a panacea for the state's drug problem.

And while she commended the State Government for being proactive, she said boosted resources needed to be in place before the program started in November.

Attorney-General Rod Welford said a survey at the Brisbane watchhouse found 80 per cent of inmates had committed their alleged offence after drinking or taking drugs.

"This is about ensuring that people who are starting to use drugs in a way that will lead to a life of crime are diverted from that drug use," he said.