FIND ROOTS OF DRUG WOES

Ottawa has between 3,000 to 5,000 injection drug addicts according to
David Salisbury, the city's chief medical officer of health. To
attack this problem, a proposed youth drug treatment centre, weighing
in at about $7 million, is expected to have only 28 beds.

Those two sentences show some of the difficult parameters of Ottawa's
fast-growing drug problem. One, that the number of users is large but
it is tricky to know how many there are, let alone find them. Two,
that drug treatment is extremely expensive -- for $7 million you get
but 28 beds to deal with a problem perhaps 5,000 addicts strong.

Were that the problem was that simple. A recent police sweep netted
more than 125 suspected dealers and prostitutes. Normally, you'd just
say good work officers and leave it at that. But Dr. Salisbury adds
another nuance to the issue. He maintains that the arrests have made
getting drugs more difficult which could lead to an increase in
violent crime as addicts scramble to find dealers and their scarcer
wares. They must steal more money to satiate their cravings.

Dr. Salisbury's comments show just how terribly complicated the drug
problem is. It is not a matter of simple enforcement or social and
health-care workers practising their skills. In the past, we have
emphasized enforcement and that is still part of the solution. But we
must also listen to the professionals who understand the depth of the
problem and can propose workable courses of action.