IMPORT HEROIN ADDICTS: DOCTOR

WEALTHY Indonesian heroin addicts could be imported to WA for treatment, a
Perth doctor says.

Dr Neil Beck, who works at Dr George O'Neil's heroin detoxification clinic
in Subiaco, has asked the State Government to help make WA the leading
treatment centre in Australia.

He made the comment in a letter appealing to the Government to allow doctors
at the clinic to prescribe attention deficit disorder drugs to heroin
addicts with the disorder.

Dr Beck, who refused to comment on his letter sent anonymously to The West
Australian yesterday, said authorities had estimated that between 30 per
cent and 50 per cent of heroin addicts had ADD.

But he said the problem was that doctors at the clinic could not prescribe
the ADD drugs and that meant they could not treat the patients' heroin
addiction properly.

Dr Beck said the clinic was getting ADD patients on to naltrexone, the
opiate blocker, and off heroin.

But then they would use amphetamines, to help control their ADD, and were
back using heroin when they came off naltrexone.

He said WA could develop a specialist treatment centre for heroin addicts
and ADD patients, adding that it could lead to other positive spin-offs.

"There are thousands of young people with wealthy parents in Indonesia, who
may come to Perth for treatment, which would boost our tourism and
health-care industries, if Perth was to become the leading heroin/ADD
treatment centre in Australia," he wrote.

Health Minister John Day's office said he could not comment because he had
not received the letter but Health Department chief psychiatrist Professor
George Lipton said he was not aware of any refereed scientific publications
that supported the claim that 30 per cent to 50 per cent of heroin addicts
also had ADD.

"It is a well-recognised complication of people who cease taking heroin as a
result of a naltrexone program to abuse other substances, including
amphetamines," he said.

Dr O'Neil said the Government could prescribe ADD drugs to patients with
diagnosed cases of ADD. At present only some specialists can prescribe those
drugs with department approval.

Sandy Moran, a post graduate nurse researching ADD for her thesis, said
there was documented evidence from leading health authorities about the link
between ADD and heroin, adding ADD patients were prone to addiction and used
drugs to control their brain.

She supported Dr Beck's request to have doctors at the clinic prescribe ADD
drugs.

Labor health spokeswoman Sheila McHale said she was concerned about the
proposal to import heroin addicts, adding it would be exploiting people with
an addiction to prop up a local service.

She called on the Government to fund Dr O'Neil's clinic properly while a
heroin detoxification trial, which is due to start soon under the control of
the University of WA, is under way.