Handing out heroin

Madam, - Paul Cullen's report (Health, June 9th) on the Swiss authorities' innovative and daring approach to their country's …

Madam, - Paul Cullen's report (Health, June 9th) on the Swiss authorities' innovative and daring approach to their country's heroin addiction problem was both informative and thought-provoking. In response to the question posed as to whether or not a similar clinic would work here in Dublin, it seems obvious that a system which reduces crime, improves the general health of the addicts and at the same time protects the public from the risk of accidental needle-stick injuries, must be given a chance.

One point not highlighted by Mr Cullen is that the majority of heroin overdoses in Ireland (almost 90 per cent) are accidental, caused either by the user taking too much of a pure product or the fact that there is no medical assistance at hand whereby the user can be resuscitated on site and any damage caused can be kept to a minimum. Both of these services could be provided at such a clinic here in Dublin.

The fact is that any system which benefits both the addict and the wider society, as the Swiss model appears to do, should not be withheld through ignorance and/or archaic notions of morality. - Yours, etc.,

DECLAN HEFFERNAN, Kincora Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3.