NSW: Australia s first drug court opens tomorrow

AAP General News (Australia)
02-07-1999
NSW: Australia s first drug court opens tomorrow

SYDNEY, Feb 7 AAP - Australia's first drug court will open in Sydney tomorrow.

The court, pioneered in the United States, offers heroin-addicted criminals the option of
undergoing rehabilitation instead of going to jail.

NSW Premier Bob Carr said addicts' progress would be strictly monitored and if they
returned to drugs, they would be jailed.

"It's an incentive to get off drugs," he said.

"It's an example of the new solutions we're trying."

The $12 million, two-year trial at the west suburban Parramatta court house will be …