TIME FOR TREATMENT

Two different Tim Hortons, two different ways of dealing with drug
addicts. Both are legitimate.

One coffee shop, at Bank and Cooper streets, has installed bio-medical
disposable bins in which addicts can toss their needles. That helps
patrons and staff alike who are concerned about pricking themselves
with the used drug paraphernalia. Sure, it must be disconcerting for
customers entering a washroom to be discovering that it has been used
to shoot up, but it's better than stepping on a needle.

Another Tim Hortons, this one at St. Patrick Street and King Edward
Avenue, had a bio-medical container, but now is opting to close its
washroom altogether. Perhaps it's due to the pressure on the business
from the serious drug problems on nearby Rideau Street. Neighbours to
the coffee shop have collected as many as 1,000 needles during a
six-week span. The presence of so many drugs in the area must make
running a business taxing.

So two similar problems, two different ways of dealing with them.
Nothing the two Tim's have done will solve the issue, but the shops
have found a way to work around it. It's not the task of a business to
solve the drug dilemma, only to continue to operate in the midst of
such difficulty.

The extent of the downtown drug problem is becoming very serious. It
threatens health and quality of life. There has never been a better
time to build an Ottawa drug treatment centre.