* 1996 – 21 year old son Damien confessed heroin habit * Heroin isn’t the same problem it was, still a problem, still there but people dying from other drugs as well * Drug use is a secretive thing that people do – don’t look like the junkie stereotype, they look normal * We live in a state of denial until we find out through something happening * Couldn’t find support for Damien. * Many families reach out to people they think can help, GP or Priest. They normally get bias like from anyone else. Then reach out to friends but get same reaction and so they then keep it within the family. * Damien did a 9 day detox at his sisters – second denial that this could be conquered easily * For next 12 months, Things were happening positively, he wasn’t using a lot of heroine but he was drinking a lot. Damien had bouts of depression and periods of excitement. One some of his bleaks of depression he set off to the city and used. * February 12th 1997 – abandoned stairwell of crown st. hospital where he passed away. Trifecta of risk with heroin use -- He was intolerant to drug because he hadn’t been using it regularly so his tolerance dropped. He had been drinking all day so he had his central nervous system all ready slowed down by alcohol. Because the drug is illegal, he went somewhere secluded and dark and gave him all of those risk factors. * Despite having identification, took police 3 days to identify Damien * Noticed the death didn’t mean much to police etc. he was just another junkie, the night that Damien did 6 other people died in Sydney * Nobody would die if we had prescription heroin * 1997 big year for heroin – cheap, available, pure. Thousands of deaths, 3 a day all under 40. * ACT wanted to run a trial of prescription heroin, got all states and territories to agree. John Howard
