TO PONDERS DRUG STRATEGY

Hand Out Crack Pipes, Report Says Drug Consumption Sites Considered

Toronto should consider handing out crack pipes and cookers for injection
drugs, in much the same way as needles are provided to heroin addicts, says
a wide-ranging report on drug use that will be considered next week by the
Toronto Board of Health.

The Toronto Drug Strategy also calls on the city to study whether
"supervised consumption sites" for drug users in the city are needed, or
are feasible.

The report was prepared by an advisory committee including five city
councillors headed by Kyle Rae (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale), several
dozen representatives of community groups, school boards and health
institutions, and a variety of city officials.

The board will consider the report at its meeting a week from today and,
Rae said, after it's approved he wants the city to set up a committee to
implement the strategy.

The study also calls on Toronto to limit the concentration of bars and
restaurants that serve liquor in certain neighbourhoods.

Dr. David McKeown, the city's medical officer of health, said a drug policy
is needed because most people take drugs and "there's no reason to think
that drug use is going to disappear."

At a news conference releasing the strategy, McKeown noted that, according
to the report, 78 per cent of adults drink alcohol, as do 62 per cent of
students in junior high and high schools; 23 per cent of students and 15
per cent of adults have used cannabis.

Crack cocaine is the most frequently used street drug, he said, and "we're
not doing enough" about it, McKeown said.

"Crack kits -- which are being distributed in Toronto now -- are seen as a
way to reach out and pull in a very marginalized group of drug users,"
McKeown said. The kits contain clean mouthpieces, pipe stems and screens.

"You can't get people into treatment, you can't reach people with
prevention messages and harm reduction interventions if you can't talk to
them directly. So the crack kits are seen as a good way to do that."

The kits might also limit the spread of disease from one user to another,
he said, but there's not enough evidence yet to draw conclusions.

Deputy police chief. Tony Warr said the police agree with most of the
recommendations, but disagree about legalizing possession of cannabis.

"We don't see the need for it," he said. "Right now nobody goes to jail for
possession of marijuana. I think it's the message it sends. We're concerned
about the influx and the epidemic almost of grow houses, and we're creating
a market for the grow houses."

Police are currently opposed to supervised sites for drug use, he said. Rae
said any move toward the safe sites would require federal and provincial
approval.

The drug strategy notes that alcohol is still the most widely used drug in
the city.

"The research is clear that the best way to manage consumption and reduce
the harm of alcohol use is to limit alcohol availability," it says.