Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jul 2007
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Emily Rauhala
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)

ADVOCATES MULL SAFER CRACK PIPE PROGRAM

Ideas Include Hiring People To Pick Up Pipes From Streets

Concerned residents, AIDS advocates and those who work with HIV 
patients met at City Hall last night to discuss the cancellation of 
Ottawa's controversial crack pipe program.

In an emotional two-hour meeting, those in attendance listened to 
presentations from academics, former drug users and representatives 
of organizations that provide services to AIDS patients before 
presenting their concerns -- and proposed solutions -- to the audience.

The meeting is the result of a city council decision to halt a 
two-year-old program that saw the distribution of free crack pipes, 
at a cost to the city of $22,500 a year, at the end of the month.

The debate centred around the complaints of residents in Sandy Hill, 
Centretown and Hintonburg and Vanier that used crack pipes and other 
drug paraphernalia were regularly turning up on their lawns.

Amanda Smith, a member of the Arthur Street Neighbourhood Watch, said 
last night she opposes the program and wants to see the money going 
toward drug treatment.

"The crack pipe program is not making people better," she said. 
"Instead of distributing crack pipes, there should be more treatment 
for people with crack addictions." Ms. Smith expressed concern for 
the safety of neighbourhood children and said she has regularly found 
pipes and needles at a nearby school.

Proponents countered that cutting the program would not keep pipes 
off the streets, and proposed safer disposal boxes.

Panel members suggested safer disposal boxes in conjunction with the 
hiring of people to collect used needles from the streets would ease 
community concerns.

Lynne Leonard, a University of Ottawa professor who carried out a 
study on the success of the crack-pipe program, had different 
solutions in mind.

Like all of the panelists who spoke yesterday evening, she emphasized 
the importance of harm-reduction programs and argued Ottawa's 
crack-pipe program should not be cancelled.

"It's going to be hard. People have their own ideologies and 
harm-reduction is a very tricky concept to understand," she said. 
"People are saying they want treatment facilities, but harm reduction 
can get (to drug addicts) while they are waiting for treatment." Ms. 
Leonard also said that when drug addicts don't have access to clean 
pipes, they will make their own.

She showed pictured of pop cans, syringes and pill bottles that had 
been fashioned into crack pipes, and emphasized the danger that 
home-made pipes pose to drug users.

As a rock of crack is heated, she said, the pipe is heated, which can 
cause cuts and burns on lips, mouths and fingers. The crack-pipe 
program provides mouthpieces, which protect people from burning their 
lips, preventing the spread of blood-borne diseases through shared implements.

Ms. Leonard said a crack-pipe program won't increase or decrease the 
number of people using crack, but it will make its use safer.

Ottawa Police Chief Vernon White has called crack "our biggest 
challenge." The number of charges Ottawa police laid for the 
possession, trafficking and importation of cocaine jumped 57 per cent 
last year.

It is the third year in a row the number of cocaine-related charges 
have risen. In fact, the number more than doubled to 546 charges in 
2006 from 216 charges in 2004.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom