NEWS: The Age 12/10/2001: NSW heroin drought turns addicts to cocaine

Heroin addicts facing a drought in Sydney's street supply were increasingly turning to cocaine use, NSW Premier Bob Carr said.
Mr Carr told the inaugural NSW Press Forum last night that the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research had reported a drop in heroin consumption, spending and the health risks that came with it.
He said the exodus of users from the heroin market was mildly encouraging in view of the fact that statistics also showed they were increasing their use of cocaine.
"I speak as someone who believes that one heroin death is too many," Mr Carr said.
But he stressed that the trend towards increased cocaine use began before the heroin drought.
New figures, released yesterday, show Australia's first heroin injecting room had saved 36 lives since opening in May this year.
Users had overdosed at the clinic but were successfully resuscitated.
"Since the trial began, there have been 36 overdoses," Mr Carr said.
"They were quickly attended to that is 36 potential deaths averted."
Both cocaine and heroin were being injected at the Kings Cross premises.
Mr Carr said the government would await the end of the 18month trial before deciding whether to expand or shutdown the program.
There were now more than 800 users who had registered with the centre and of those, more than 240 had been referred into treatment and other support services.
So far, there had been no deaths at the site.
Mr Carr did not rule out keeping the centre open at the end of the trial but said a full evaluation would need to first take place.
"We're in the middle of a trial," he said.
"I'm not drawing any conclusions about terminating this medicallysupervised injecting room or establishing others until that trial is complete.
"We've made it clear: We want trial, we want this guarded and cautious experimentation, we want to carefully assess the evidence ... and then make a decision."
Mr Carr said the centre had so far fulfilled the government's "limited" expectations in it.
The premier was the keynote speaker at the forum which will be held monthly at Parliament House

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