PIPING UP FOR CRACK PROGRAM

Fearing Budget Cuts, Harm-Reduction Advocates Organize Rally

Advocates of Ottawa's crack pipe program plan to make their voices
heard next week when councillors sit down to consider the 2007 budget.

Concern has been growing among advocates of the harm-reduction
program, who fear premature cuts will be made to the crack pipe
initiative during the budget process -- which will see dozens of
delegations plead their cases for funding beginning Monday.

The city's public health department has a $40-million budget, of
which $50,000 goes toward harm reduction. The crack pipe initiative
costs the city $8,000 a year.

During his election campaign, Mayor Larry O'Brien promised to
eliminate the program.

O'Brien wasn't available for comment yesterday, but his spokesman,
Mike Patton, said the mayor would be "looking for bigger fish" when
it comes to budget savings.

'A Health Issue'

Still, advocates aren't convinced and a rally has been organized by
the AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) at City Hall on Monday.

"Larry O'Brien, I imagine, sees this as a legality issue, when, in
actual fact, it should be treated as a health issue," said ACO's
Nicholas Little.

"Addiction is a question of health, not of criminality."

According to an evaluation report that will be tabled by the
Integrated Drugs and Addictions Strategy in June, Ottawa's crack pipe
program is working.

The report's executive summary, obtained by the Sun, shows a
significant change in harmful drug use since the safer crack use
program began in April 2005.

People are switching from injecting to smoking drugs and are
regularly being tested for infectious diseases of HIV and hepatitis C.

Infectious disease rates in men and women injection drug users in
Ottawa are among the highest in the country -- 21% for HIV and 76% hepatitis C.

The report summary shows that 37% of people said they shared crack
equipment all the time before the program was introduced. By the end
of one year, that figure had dropped to 13%.

"That reduces the likelihood that diseases like hepatitis C are being
transmitted," said Ottawa's Inner City Health Project executive
director, Wendy Muckle.

"With the falling price of crack, we need to be concerned about the
spreading into people who are not already infected."