Pubdate: Sat, 28 Aug 2004
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2004 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.fyiwinnipeg.com/winsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Tom Brodbeck
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis)

THEY'RE FEEDING THE DEMON

Drug Kits A Crock, Activist Says

When government starts giving out crack pipes to drug addicts and free 
booze to alcoholics, what they're doing is throwing their hands in the air 
and giving up. That's how Steve Paulson, who runs a 40-bed treatment 
facility downtown, sees the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's new policy 
of handing out free crack pipes to crack addicts.

Paulson calls the approach "retarded" and says the message it sends out is 
one of defeat.

"I think it's a mistake," said Paulson, executive director of Teen 
Challenge, a Christian-based addiction treatment facility on Edmonton 
Street. "It's the wrong signal."

Paulson should know. He works in the trenches -- the eye of the storm, if 
you will, of Winnipeg's out-of-control crack problem. He sees the pain, the 
broken lives and the desperation everyday.

But he sees the hope, too, when people sometimes turn their lives around 
after getting help. He says the turnarounds are never the result of giving 
addicts more tools to feed their addiction.

"What you're doing is just allowing these people to die faster so that you 
don't have to deal with the problem," he said.

The WRHA is giving out crack kits to addicts, including a pipe cleaner, lip 
balm and an alcohol swab to clean the pipe. WRHA officials say it's 
designed to help prevent the spread of hepatitis C and HIV.

"Crack is like a demon that is looking to devour whoever it can," said 
Paulson. "A crack addict I doubt is going to use an alcohol swab when 
they're sharing a crack pipe to get high."

When you're on a three-day binge, man, you don't even stop to go to the 
bathroom. You're on your hands and knees looking for pieces of crack that 
settled into the beer-stained carpet. You don't give a rat's fanny about 
cleaning your pipe with an alcohol swab.

Winnipeg isn't the only city taking this approach. We're among many who 
hand out free needles to drug users. Vancouver even has a safe-house for 
people to shoot up.

Believe it or not, one hostel in Ottawa -- the Shepherds of Good Hope -- 
even serves free liquor to alcoholics so they don't drink mouthwash instead.

It's even funded by the government.

Why don't they just give guns to people who want to commit suicide? What's 
the difference?

The more I think about this story, the more it reminds me of a Monty Python 
skit.

They may as well just have John Cleese handing out the little plastic baggies.

"Get your Safer Crack Use Kits here."

"Oh, hello, sir. How many would you like today. Three?"

"Oh, you must be having a party tonight. Need any clean needles? We have a 
special today -- packages of three with those nifty little plastic tips on 
the end everyone likes."

"Lip balm anyone?"

"Are you drinking hair spray again, sir? Oh, please, allow me to pour you a 
drink instead. I have some single malt here. It's much safer."

At some point you've got to give your head a shake.

This is nuts.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D