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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom