The Liberals’ Jeremy Hanson is aghast and agape following comments by the Chiefly Katy Gallagher about her priorities at the Monaro Marriott:
In extraordinary comments from the Health Minister of the ACT, the new Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, has labelled smoking as a greater health problem than the use or prevalence of illicit drugs in the prison, Shadow Health Minister Jeremy Hanson said today.
This morning Katy Gallagher told the Health Estimates committee hearing;
‘I should say that out of the Burnet report and there is a lot of interest around illicit drugs. The most concerning thing for me around that report was the level of smoking, and if there is a health issue in the jail it is smoking, and for me it’s how to we deal with that, how do we encourage people to stop smoking.
Colonel Hanson wants to know what you think about this.
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PM said :
DOH! Sorry PM – blame my typing fingers! I meant of course Pommy B.
The Frots said :
What do you mean?? I hadn’t made a single comment!
Pommy bastard said :
Sorry PM – but no. Heroin in any form does not have 100% purity. It can’t. There are always ‘impurities’ within the substance, no matter how pritine the conditions. On a street level, ‘pure heroin’ is heroin that is between 88 to 94% pure – you don’t get any higher than that.
For what you are talking about – the purity may increase – but it is still impossible to get 100% purity.
I can’t understand why the government can’t treat people affected by drugs in prison, I was watching a programme last night, where in England it showed a women’s prison, these prisoners were able to go into detox and receive other forms of treatment.
Why can’t we do this here? Instead of giving them clean needles, it defeats the purpose of locking them up, as soon as these drug affected prisoners get out, they will be doing crime once again to feed their addiction.
The Frots said :
It does exist. It is used, at a pharmaceutical grade, in medicine in the UK.
Please enlighten me; you’re not allowed to smoke in a restaurant, pub, bar or government building but ‘guests’ at the Hume Hilton are allowed to smoke inside the buildings there??
Frankly, it is an extraordinary comment.
Does anyone else here picture a muppet when they read a story about Jeremy Hanson?
Cheap said :
Aside from the fact that there is no such thing as ‘pure heroin’ (it simply doesn’t exist) your are trying to bait us aren’t you? I mean, really……………………….
Cheap said :
The main problem with heroin is the stigma.
damien haas said :
That might change if they keep raising the prices…
damien haas said :
No but if you had smokes, they would have taken them. If people didn’t throw their good butts on the ground, then you might well have a rush of cigarette related crime. If heroin could be found lying on the ground, break-ins would plummet.
Heroin (diacetylmorphine) itself isn’t actually as bad as people make out – it’s the impurities, addictiveness and overdose potential that causes the damage. A person could theoretically take pure heroin in a controlled environment their whole lives without suffering any ill-effects.
Noone ever burgled my house to pay for a pack of cool refreshing Laramies.
colourful sydney racing identity said :
My thoughts exactly.
In the past I have often thought that it might be cost effective to provide prisoners with not just clean needles, but free smack as well? No one is going to smuggle it in if they can get it for free inside, and every fatal overdose* is a massive saving to the community…
* – I am of course not entirely serious in this suggestion.
Pommy bastard said :
this.
Hmmm.. if someone can prove they got cancer from second hand smoking at the Hume Hilton, and sue the govt, they could make a packet out of it.
Not sure that people can suffer effects of passive heroin injection.
I can totally understand where she is coming from, can you imagine how distressing it is for a guard to open a cell and find a dead prisoner with a durry hanging out of their arm? And one could imagine how they got that ciggy in there in the first place.
Smoking in jails is a major concern………..? Well stick a fork in me…………………….I’m done!
Whats next…………………..the colour ‘drab green’ is too depressing for them? The use of ‘harsh tones’ must be stopped immediately lest we denegrate them?
Get a grip…………….like, a real firm one! Zero drug policy – full stop! As for ‘smoking’, use it as a behavioural tool – be good or ‘no baccy’ for little Bubba!