{"id":3228,"date":"2009-07-26T16:37:15","date_gmt":"2009-07-26T15:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=3228"},"modified":"2009-07-26T16:37:15","modified_gmt":"2009-07-26T15:37:15","slug":"taxpayers-in-australia-fund-drug-taking-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2009\/07\/taxpayers-in-australia-fund-drug-taking-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Taxpayers In Australia Fund Drug-taking tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>By Nick Papps,Herald Sun<\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>December 15. 2003<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>A TAXPAYER-funded magazine is telling people how to inject drugs, use rock heroin and how to beat a drug test. The magazine, Whack, is produced by drug user group VIVAIDS and even includes a section on finding the best location to inject and tips on how to inject pills.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>The organisation. which receives up to $580,000 a year from government, also has a website telling users how to avoid police questions. with links to pro-drug organisations. sex sites and pornographic video outlets. The revelations coincide with the release of statistics showing that Victorian health officials gave away 5.58 million needles in the past 12 months &#8211; up 827.000 on the previous year.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Critics claim the needles are being used for heroin start-up kits and health officials have admitted that they are concerned about the rise in needle numbers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>A <em>Herald Sun<\/em> investigation has also revealed:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>INDIVIDUAL drug users are taking up to 400 needles each at needle exchanges.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>SOCIAL workers say drug dealers are waiting outside prisons for former users.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>THE Department of Human Services says increased heroin supplies and injection of prescription drugs are fuelling the rise in needle use.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Yesterday opposition leader Robert Doyle slammed VIVAAIDS and said its funding should be halted over the magazine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>\u201cThe articles in the magazine encourage efficient drug use.&#8221; Mr Doyle said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>\u201cThe message should be about the dangers of drugs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>\u201cThe Government has taken its eyes off the drug issue. This is also shown through the huge numbers of needles being handed out &#8211; it\u2019s open slather needle distribution.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>The Department of Human Services figures show that VIVAIDS received $193,000 from the State Government and almost $390,000 in funding from the Federal Government last year.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>The magazine includes:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>A CHART on how long it takes to get a clean urine test after using drugs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>TIPS on how to inject pills and break up rock heroin fix injecting.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>ADVICE on finding a good vein for injection.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>A YOUNG drug user describing chroming.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>The contents page begins with the quote: \u201cI hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity, but they\u2019ve always worked for me\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>The VIVAIDS website has extensive advice on using drugs and guides to each drug, including advice on \u201chow to have a good time\u201d on some drugs. A section on the law includes advice on avoiding police questions. The magazine is distributed in needle exchanges and is written for drug users.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Yesterday Health Minister Tony Abbott said the Federal Government would not knowingly support any organisation that promoted drug use.<\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as a safe way to use illegal drugs,\u2019 Mr Abbott said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>A State Government spokeswoman said that although it funded VIVAIDS. none of the money went towards the magazine. VIVAIDS could not be contacted yesterday for comment. Health workers said that up to 400 needles were being given to drug users a day.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>A nurse at a regional hospital said one user demanded he be given 400 needles &#8211; \u201cand we must give it to him.&#8221;Another man takes 100 needles at a time\u201d. \u201cThe person that collects them takes them to a dealer and they\u2019re used as heroin start-up kits.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>But the Department of Human Services\u2019 director of drug policy and services. Paul McDonald said health officials should hand out as many needles as they could. Mr McDonald said there was no requirement For users to hand in needles despite the drug programs being called needle exchanges.<\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>\u201cYou can never hand out too many, from a public health perspective,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more you are able to make clean syringes available, the more you are going to prevent HIV and Hep C.\u201d Mr McDonald said it was the department\u2019s policy to supply users with the number of needles they requested.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\"><span style=\"color: #000099;\"><span>Youth worker Les Twentyman said rising supplies of heroin in Victoria had led dealers to entice former drug users back. \u201cThey hang around the jails when they get released. They visit the user at home, Mr Twentyman said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Nick Papps,Herald Sun December 15. 2003 A TAXPAYER-funded magazine is telling people how to inject drugs, use rock heroin and how to beat a drug test. The magazine, Whack, is produced by drug user group VIVAIDS and even includes a section on finding the best location to inject and tips on how to inject [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-affairs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}