It might have been a city worker in a suit utilising the doorstep to inject himself on his way to work or the more mundane regularity of a smashed car window. The signs of desperate, addicted people were everywhere.

Given enough exposure, it was easy to become desensitised. But one experience has stuck with me for almost 20 years.

It shows why Police Minister Troy Grant's denigration of a proposal from health experts to allow 16-year-olds and pregnant women into the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre at Kings Cross is shameful and deeply irresponsible.

One Friday morning there was a noise on the fire stairs behind our small block of apartments.

A look through the window revealed the source of the disturbance: a young heroin addict, maybe 16 or 17 years old, heavily pregnant and bleeding profusely.

She disappeared soon after being noticed – too quickly for an ambulance to be called.

It is, of course, impossible to know whether access to the centre would have made any difference to her situation.

It didn't open until 2001 and has always been required to turn away pregnant women and those under 18.

Had it been around and if pregnant youths were allowed to visit, perhaps instead of haemorrhaging alone on a fire escape, she might have been in the care of health professionals.

Responding to Grant's comments, which were reported in the media on Monday morning, MSIC medical director Dr Marianne Jauncey acknowledged that the centre has only had to turn away a small number of pregnant or underage addicts.

"But when you see a young person, maybe 17 years old, or a person who's pregnant and addicted to heroin, they're really the people that I'm most concerned about," she told 2UE radio.

"As a doctor, I'm most wanting to get those people where we've got a really good chance of intervening early, of getting them onto treatment, of turning their lives around, of getting them into antenatal support, they're the people I'm most concerned about."

She added that when people are determined to inject drugs "the best thing at that point is to do our utmost to engage with them and refer them into treatment, care and support services.

"The only way I can do that is if I'm allowed to see them."

Grant should be condemned for his knee-jerk, populist response.

Jauncey told 2UE Grant had not even discussed the matter with her before slamming the proposal – which has not yet been properly considered by NSW Health – as "ridiculous" and "offensive".

It's not the first time Grant has spoken on issues of drug law reform apparently from a point of blind prejudice and wilful ignorance.

He had similar things to say when flatly ruling out drug testing at music festivals following a spate of deaths.

In both cases, Grant unilaterally announced what government policy would be, going around cabinet and the person who should actually have carriage of these matters – Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

The people of NSW should be asking themselves this: who do they want determining this important aspect of public health policy?

Do they want to hear the considered views of health professionals who see the impact of addiction every day of their working lives?

Or are they comfortable having it driven by the personal views of a former policeman who refuses to seek expert advice?