All Howard, the Sallies, and others who waffle on in this way are doing is providing assistance for the drug smugglers, and all those others who profit form this industry to make more money. Don Trudy Bray wrote: > I suggest we start a 'zero tolerance' policy on Howard. --- Trudy > ================================================ > > Howard's FBI war on drugs > > Date: 22/02/99 > > By BERNARD LAGAN in Wellington > > The Prime Minister will meet the head of the FBI next week to discuss tougher >strategies to combat Australia's heroin problem, including > stricter law enforcement and cheaper rehabilitation. > > Mr Howard, who is visiting New Zealand, is understood to be impressed with the "zero >tolerance" policies in the United States, and > determined to wrest the drug reform debate from those favouring alternative >strategies. > > He is expected to begin his fresh approach with two major speeches in the next two >weeks, making a forceful case for his Government's > hard-line drug policy, and drawing on European research to bolster his case against >heroin trials. > > He has requested a meeting with the head of the FBI, Mr Louis Freeh, to discuss new >law enforcement measures to reduce heroin > trafficking and dealing in Australia. > > Sources close to Mr Howard said he had concluded that he needed to go on the >offensive because he was concerned that those favouring > alternative strategies, especially the controlled distribution of heroin, had a hold >in some sections of the media. > > He was likely to also announce new measures to combat heroin abuse that might >include reducing the costs of traditional rehabilitation, > and as yet unspecified law enforcement action. > > Mr Howard believed the zero tolerance policies in the US had reduced the drug >problem, the sources said. > > He disclosed his new approach at the weekend in NZ, where the Prime Minister, Ms >Shipley, told journalists that she was impressed > with his approach to the heroin problem and that she intended to seek details from >him. > > At a joint press conference, Mr Howard said that in the next few weeks he would talk >more about the drug problem and explain in detail > why he believed heroin trials involving controlled distribution would not work. > > Last year, Mr Howard refused to support such a trial planned by Australian National >University researchers for a small group of > Canberra addicts. Although the trial had wide support from addiction experts, it was >abandoned in the face of strong political opposition. > > Mr Howard said: "I invite those who are so enthusiastically advocating heroin trials >in Australia to have a look at the Swedish experience, > to have a look at the Merseyside experience in the United Kingdom, to have a look at >the limited Swiss experience, to have a look at > what is occurring in the United States where that approach has not been taken. > > "It is a difficult problem and no approach carries all the answers. And to rather >simplistically say every day, well, there were such and > such number of overdoses therefore you have to embrace, without much thought, some >other approach is not necessarily an answer." > > Mr Howard said he believed he spoke for millions of Australian parents in saying >that a heroin trial would not send the right signals to > young people. > > Supporters of the proposed Canberra trial had relied on Swiss results which showed >that the controlled distribution of heroin to a pilot > group of addicts had markedly improved their health and employment prospects and led >to a big drop in crime committed by the group. > > The president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, Mr Alex Wodak, said last >night that zero tolerance was not working in the > US and that "roughly half" of the 40,000 HIV infections a year there came from drug >use. > > "What does zero tolerance mean - does it mean we have very lengthy sentences for >relatively minor crimes?" > > This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring >is prohibited. > > ************************************************************************* > This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without > permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, > scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal > copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of > the copyright owner, except for "fair use." ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
