NO 'SUBSIDIZING ADDICTION'

A seven-year-old program that sees Winnipeg health officials hand out
free crack-smoking kits to addicts could be reviewed if the Tories
win October's provincial election.

Ian Rabb, the Tory candidate in Fort Garry-Riverview and a former
Addictions Foundation of Manitoba board member, said the
Conservatives need more hard data about the program's success from
the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority before agreeing to "subsidize
addiction."

"My concern is the WRHA is paying to subsidize addiction without any
real benefit," said Rabb, an admitted former crystal meth addict himself.

"Trying to improve public health is important for everyone, not just
addicts, but we would have to see the public health results," Rabb
said. "We don't really know until we see more information from the WRHA."

The WRHA began handing out "safer crack kits" in 2004, in an effort
to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis C and
HIV. The kits contain a Pyrex crack pipe, disposable vinyl pipe tips,
filters, screens, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to solidify the drug, and
an information sheet about how to use the kit.

Rabb would not reveal the Tories' electoral stance on the issue ahead
of the campaign, but did repeat, "We do not want to subsidize addiction."

Pierre Plourde, medical officer of health with the WRHA, said he's
very happy with the results of the crack-pipe program and
"absolutely" recommends it to other cities such as Vancouver, where
officials there are preparing to start handing out similar
crack-smoking kits to addicts in that city.

"We follow trends of the diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV in
drug-using populations, and Winnipeg has been one of the few
jurisdictions in North America where these diseases have not been
going up. They have gone up significantly in some other jurisdictions
where these kits are not being used yet," Plourde said.

"It's hard to attribute cause and effect but we certainly are not
seeing any major harms and probably seeing significant benefits."

The WRHA gives out roughly 2,000 per month through its Street
Connections outreach program. Each one costs taxpayers about 60 cents.

"The financial benefits are actually a no-brainer," Plourde said.
"We're talking 60 cents per crack use kit, multiplied by a couple
thousand a month. Those costs alone are nothing, are miniscule,
compared to the cost of treating HIV or Hepatitis C, so every case we
can prevent is a huge savings to the health care system."