Posts
The Australian Medical Association
(AMA) has called for the trial of a supervised injecting facility in Victoria
that would help prevent overdoses and control the spread of blood-borne
diseases such as hepatitis C. With a successful facility operating in Sydney
for more than 10 years, AMA Victorian president Stephen Parnis said it was time
the Victorian government considered a trial. The Baillieu government has
repeatedly ruled out such a trial since coming to power two years ago and did
so again last night. However, the opposition and the Greens [a political party]
urged the government to consider the proposal.
Dr. Parnis suggested that the
facilities could work in “Melbourne’s drug hotspots.” Heroin-related ambulance
attendances were particularly high in the City of Yarra, where councillors
voted last year to introduce a trial, but were thwarted by the government when
it refused to change legislation that would have allowed the city to move
forward. In Victoria, during the years 2009 through 2010, there were 2,033
heroin-related ambulance attendances, and more than one in five were in the
City of Yarra. The mayor of Yarra, Geoff Barbour, said the council maintained
its support for a safe injecting facility within the municipality because the
current criminal approach had failed. Yarra Drug and Health Forum executive
officer Greg Denham welcomed AMA’s statement and called on other community
leaders and organizations to express support. He added that approximately 100
Victorians continued to die each year from drug overdoses.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
