JUST THE FACTS, CHIEF

Ottawa's incoming police chief, Vernon White, is right to seek
evidence about the crack-pipe program. Empiricism is the only solid
foundation for drug policy.

Unfortunately, Chief White will have to fight the bias against
drug-kit programs that seems common to police officers. "I'm not a
fan of giving out drug paraphernalia if there is no harm reduction,"
he told the Citizen. "There has to be an output or a result that is
positive. Show me some evidence."

Chief White is starting from a position of skepticism. That's fair
enough, but the new chief should study the issue as soon as possible,
so he can form a full opinion.

There is already some evidence available, including one study
specific to Ottawa. Last year, researchers from the University of
Ottawa looked at the impact of the crack-kit program. They found that
pipe-sharing decreased significantly for participants over the course
of a year. That could lead to lower rates of HIV and hepatitis C infection.

The study also found an increase in crack-smoking among drug users.
While this is a concern, there is a simultaneous decrease in drug
injection. It probably means existing users are choosing to smoke
rather than inject. It doesn't necessarily indicate an overall
increase in drug abuse rates in Ottawa. In the final analysis,
inhaling is less risky than injecting, and less damaging to public health.

It's also hard to know exactly how much of the switch to smoking is a
result of the program. Trends in drug use are the results of many
factors. Crack is cheap and available in Ottawa these days.

Of course, we need more information about the effects of the program.

There could be unforeseen consequences for the community. But the
decrease in pipe-sharing is enough good news to justify giving the
crack-kit program a chance to prove itself.

Although handing out clean stems and mouthpieces doesn't cost the
city much money, the program has drawn a lot of criticism since it
began two years ago. Some of the criticism has come from departing
chief Vince Bevan. Ottawans will be looking to the new chief for guidance.

Supporting a public program that gives away drug paraphernalia might
go against every fibre of a police officer's being, but that doesn't
make it bad policy. The city has a duty to reduce the spread of
illness. It must use reason and science to develop policies that work.

At both the six-month and 12-month marks in the study, a quarter of
users said the police had confiscated their new clean glass stems.

It makes no sense for one arm of the state to be erasing the work of
another. The police must work with the city's health department, not
against it -- no matter what opinion Chief White adopts about the
crack-kit program.