According to a program on channel 4 , a drug addict , a doctor
himself , says druggies need two to three hits a day and will chase to
find the drug dealer.
    Offer the drug addicts pure heroin if they tell them the names
of the drug dealers or put spies on their trail to catch the drug
dealers and put them behind bars for 25 years each.
    The doctor said that supplying the druggies pure heroin , 90%
are OFF the drug within a year !! and crime greatly reduced .
    Note also that the cold turkey method in Singapore works the
best

excerpts
Swiss Health Insurers To Cover Most Of Cost For Heroin Prescription
For Addicts
The Swiss government announced a new system for prescription heroin,
whereby insurers will now pay 75% of the cost of the heroin for users.
Swissinfo, a service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, reported
on June 12, 2002 ( "Health Insurers To Foot Bill For Heroin") that
"Under the new system announced by the government, health insurers
will be required to fork out 75 per cent of the cost of heroin
prescriptions. That works out SFr16.5 million ($10 million) a year, or
SFr40 per addict per day. Health insurers already foot a quarter of
the bill. Currently 1,169 addicts are given daily doses of the drug as
part of the government's Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) programme at
a cost of SFr55 per addict per day. The addicts themselves are
expected to foot the balance - SFr15 a day - but for those without the
means to do so the local authorities will pick up the rest of the
bill."

Insurance companies are not pleased with the government's plan.
Swissinfo reports that "Health insurer, Swica, told swissinfo that, in
its view, addicts were a public responsibility and that it was not up
to health insurers to see to their needs. 'I was surprised to hear of
the government's decision because it doesn't make any sense,' said
Swica spokeswoman, Nicole Graf. 'All it does is change who has to pay
for heroin medication.' She said ultimately it would be the public who
footed the bill, through their health premiums, adding that it would
take at least six months to see whether premiums would be raised to
cover the additional costs." Swissinfo notes that "Under the HAT
programme, addicts receive daily doses of Diaphine (soluable heroin) –
under strict supervision – at one of 22 injection centres across the
country. Addicts either inject heroin, which is legally produced by a
Swiss pharmaceutical firm, or take it orally. Those who have been on
the programme for several months - and are viewed as 'stable' - are
eventually allowed 'take home' doses of the oral form of heroin or
methadone to counter withdrawal symptoms."

The Swiss program has met with a great deal of success. As Swissinfo
reports, "In the ten years since the heroin prescription programme was
introduced, drug experts say it has saved hundreds of lives.
Drug-related deaths, mostly from heroin overdoses, have dropped by
half since 1992, while Aids-related deaths among drug users have
fallen by a third since 1994. Critics of the scheme have long
maintained that the heroin prescription programme fails to wean
addicts off drugs. But Dr Daniel Meili, a leading member of the
association for the reduction in the risks of drug abuse, insists they
are missing the point. 'The final goal is abstinence, but there are a
lot of people who never reach that goal,' he told swissinfo in a
recent interview. 'If you measure success only by the rate of
abstinence you are on the wrong track because that's not the primary
goal – first people have to survive.' Meili points out that statistics
show that those outside the treatment programme die at a rate of two
to three per cent a year. After ten years that means a death rate of
20-30 per cent – 'maybe more', he said. 'For me the programme has been
a success because, from a medical point of view, the main aim is to
reduce mortality', he added."

The article notes other indicators showing that the program has been a
success, for example a drop in crime. "Dr Jürgen Rehm, director of the
Addiction Research Institute in Zurich, told swissinfo that other
important factors also need to be taken on board when assessing the
merits of the programme. He said that by reducing the prevalence of
illicit drug consumption some indicators of social integration – most
notably criminality – have also improved. This is supported by
statistics from the Federal Office of Public Health which show that at
the start of their treatment, 70 per cent of addicts are involved in
some kind of criminal activity. This figure drops to just ten per cent
after 18 months on the programme. Other studies reveal that the
economy also benefits since the cost of treating a patient amounts to
SFr55 daily, whereas those not on the programme cost the government
SFr96 a day in terms of policing, imprisonment and poor health."

...
In 1975 Singapore experienced a sudden heroin epidemic, and within two
years an estimated 3 per cent of the males, 15-24, were involved. In
1977 the Government responded with an all-out enforcement strategy
aimed at rapid containment. Demand reduction involved the large scale
arrest of suspected users, and the immediate commitment of those with
positive urines to Drug Rehabilitation Centres. The primary
rehabilitation emphasis is on instilling discipline, social
responsibility and sound work habits. Releases are placed on two years
of compulsory supervision with a 5-day cycle for reporting and urine
specimens. Sixty-three per cent show no detected drug use within the
first year of supervision. Supply reduction efforts are equally strong
and, while these were not immediately successful in limiting
availability, heroin is currently very scarce and expensive. While
there is some evidence of the substitution of cannabis, psychotropic
drugs and alcohol, the number of new heroin cases is minimal. Overall,
the epidemic appears to have been controlled.

During the first week detoxification is accomplished in locked cells
and without supportive medication except for those over 55 or
medically exempted. Public accounts of the programme have emphasized
the "cold turkey" withdrawal which is seen as a deterrent to future
relapse. In actuality, the term is more symbolic of the overall tough
approach. Withdrawals are not typically severe, and many use various
medications during the seven-day interval between arrest and the
obtaining of urine results to reduce the impact of the centre
withdrawal.

The second week is devoted to recuperation and orientation. During the
third week the committee is subjected to intensive exhortations
concerning the evils of drug use, the realities of life and their
responsibility to society. The remainder of the three months is
devoted to a military type programme aimed at inculcating discipline
and physical development. Military drilling and calisthenics are the
main activities.

At the end of three months, inmates are sent to one of four centres
where they are employed 44 hours per week in industrial workshops
(female commitments occupy a sixth centre). First offenders are
segregated as well as those designated hard core addicts. One centre
has a full-time study programme for those lacking a basic education.
The work programme is aimed at instilling disciplined work habits
rather than developing skills. The work involves mostly repetitive
manufacturing tasks, and in many of the workshops the training and
equipment are provided by outside firms. In some instances the
individual may continue to work for these firms after release, but
again, the primary intent is inculcating discipline rather than
continuity of employment. The staff : inmate ratio is 1:10.

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/bulletin/bulletin_1980-01-01_1_page002.html
.....

According to Health Canada, "In 1973 the federal Commission of Inquiry
into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs recommended that heroin-assisted
therapy be tested in clinical trials. More recently, large studies in
Switzerland and the Netherlands have indicated that heroin-assisted
therapy is useful in helping some chronic users to stabilize their
addictions, reduce criminal activity and lead more healthy and
productive lives. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is
providing at total of $8.1 million and the study is approved by Health
Canada. The principal investigator is Dr. Martin Schechter of the
University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. Ethical review
boards at each of NAOMI's three sponsoring institutions-the University
of British Columbia, Toronto's Centre for Addictions and Mental Health
and Université de Montréal-have approved the study. 'Results from the
European studies suggest that medically prescribed heroin could
greatly help our most troubled heroin addicts --those for whom we have
no effective treatments,' said Dr. Schechter. 'But we won't know
whether the same results hold true in the Canadian setting until we
complete this carefully designed scientific study.' 'Heroin addiction
afflicts an estimated 60 to 90,000 Canadians and the costs associated
with it--in terms of human misery, public health, social problems and
crime--are staggering,' said Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of CIHR.
'Canada, and many other countries, therefore, need studies such as
NAOMI to investigate new approaches to reducing the harm caused by
heroin addiction.'"

Physicians in Switzerland are pushing the Federal Health Office to
permit cocaine prescriptions for the most addicted individuals, Swiss
Info reported June 3.

For 10 years, the country has had a heroin-prescription program for
individuals who use the opiate beyond a recreational basis. Daniel
Meili, head of Zurich's heroin program, said individuals with multiple
dependencies would benefit from a cocaine-prescription program.

"Of the 150 heroin patients I have here, perhaps a third of them could
also benefit from cocaine prescription," Meili said. "They come here
to get the heroin, but they are also addicted to cocaine, which they
buy on the illegal market."

But government health officials are not convinced of the benefits of a
cocaine prescription program. "There's just no evidence that such a
scheme would be successful," said Markus Jann, head of the federal
drug addiction department. "We would be very hesitant about trying
such a thing, and anyhow we have more important addictions to tackle,
such as alcohol or tobacco."

About 90,000 individuals use cocaine in Switzerland. However, the
majority are recreational users and would not be included in the
prescription program.