COUNCILLORS ENDORSE PLAN TO FIGHT DRUGS

City To Look At Possibility Of Studying Crack-Pipe Users

Councillors on the city's community services committee endorsed the
next phase of the municipality's plan to combat drugs and addiction
yesterday, including a possible review of the crack-pipe program.

The plan was developed by a group of community groups and government
agencies, including the police, public health officials, and
addictions specialists known as the Community Network.

It calls for the creation of a 48-bed residential treatment facility
for youth because the city doesn't have one, peer intervention
programs and increased support services, employment opportunities,
drug treatment resources and help to find housing for addicts.

The plan also calls for beefed up education programs aimed at
preventing drug use, particularly by youth, a more co-ordinated
approach with police officers, and a better communications strategy
on what the plan hopes to achieve.

However, the focus of public debate remains the city's two-year-old,
$8,000-per-year program of handing out clean crack pipes and rubber
mouth pieces to users.

Ottawa's police force and others maintain it's counter productive to
hand out drug-taking items when one of the goals is to prevent drug
use. Critics maintain there is no evidence showing the program even
reduces the spread of disease.

The city's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Salisbury, and
supporters of the program maintain this is not the case, and that the
critics are missing the point of the program.

"This program is about prevention of HIV and Hepatitis C, it's not
about reducing drug use," Dr. Salisbury said.

Furthermore, he said a recent report by a University of Ottawa
researcher Dr. Lynne Leonard concluded the program is meeting its
goal of harm reduction. An independent review of the program was
approved in principle yesterday.