§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the recent Swiss pilot scheme for the provision of injectable heroin to addicts; and if his Department will be represented in the conference on this subject in the USA in June. [44215]
§ Ms JowellThere is already experience in the United Kingdom of prescribing the diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) albeit only for a small number of people in drug treatment. The Swiss trials indicate that it is feasible to use diamorphine under strictly controlled conditions as part of a comprehensive social and psychological intervention. In the absence of any comparative trials it is difficult to determine the value of the diamorphine provision as distinct from other aspects of the treatment package.
465WWe will look carefully at the outcome of the New York conference on heroin maintenance that took place on 6 June 1998 and will be represented at the United General Assembly Special Session on drugs in New York this month.