NURSES WON'T HAND OUT CRACK PIPES, FOR NOW

Council Gets Final Say on Controversial Program

Crack kits will not hit Nanaimo's streets unless city council says it
is OK to do so.

In a presentation to council members on Monday, the Vancouver Island
Health Authority's chief medical health officer, Dr. Richard Stanwick,
said the community and police would have to be on board if the
controversial distribution of crack pipes was to go ahead.

He said VIHA will do a better job of communicating with the public
about the program, "quietly" implemented without council's knowledge
earlier this year.

Council members learned of the crack kit program in May, months after
VIHA nurses began handing them out on Nanaimo streets.

The program was put on hold after nursing staff reported on-the-job
harassment.

Stanwick said it would be "foolhardy" to relaunch the program without
community approval.

Crack kit distribution is a sanctioned harm reduction strategy,
similar to needle exchange programs to prevent HIV and Hepatitis C, or
supervised consumption sites to prevent drug overdoses and the spread
of disease, said Stanwick.

Although he pointed to research showing harm reduction strategies do
not encourage substance use, Neighbours of Nob Hill co-chair James
Younger believes otherwise.

Younger referenced findings from a report that looked at Ottawa's
crack pipe program, launched in April 2005 after finding high HIV and
Hepatitis C infection rates among drug users.

University of Ottawa researchers studied the program and found fewer
users were sharing their crack pipes because of the program, but more
people were using the drug.

No health authorities in the province operate crack kit distribution
programs, but some non-profit societies hand them out, Stanwick said.

"It would still be deemed somewhat experimental," he said, noting
needle exchange programs were also considered controversial at one
time.

Though Mayor Gary Korpan said he appreciated Stanwick's visit, he
found the presentation "a little thin."

He questioned what toll, if any, the program would have on surrounding
neighbourhoods.

City of Nanaimo staff will hold discussions with VIHA and bring a
report back to council with recommendations for council's
consideration.