SCARBOROUGH DISCUSSES CITY'S DRUG ABUSE STRATEGY

About 25 people gathered at the Scarborough Civic Centre Monday to voice
their opinions about why substance abuse is increasing in the city.

The evening event was the first in a series of townhall meetings to help
the city identify causes of substance abuse, and develop a drug strategy
based on four components: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and
enforcement.

"It is important for the premier city of the country to effectively deal
with drug abuse," Ward 27 Councillor Kyle Rae (Toronto Centre-Rosedale)
told The Scaborough Mirror. Rae is one of five city councillors across
Toronto leading the initiative.

Monday's meeting saw participants divide into smaller groups to discuss why
they think substance abuse is increasing. The groups then presented to the
entire audience, which was made up of residents, various professionals from
organizations that work with substance abusers as well as those with a
history of abuse.

According to Elizabeth Janzen, director of the Toronto Public Health
Department, 78 per cent of Toronto adults consume alcohol, 15 per cent use
cannabis, while one to two per cent use other drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Suggestions as to why drug use was increasing included deterioration of
morals in society, poverty, lack of education and scarcity of affordable
housing.

Janzen identified homeless people, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered
people, aboriginal people, people with mental health problems who use
drugs, sex workers and prison inmates as those most likely to be substance
abusers. Recent immigrants are least likely to be substance abusers.

"If I woke up homeless tomorrow and with a history of sex abuse, I'd smoke
some crack pretty quickly," said Holly Kramer, project co-ordinator from
Toronto Harm Reduction Task Force.

Heidi Dickson, a support worker for the Warden Woods Community Centre,
which focuses on harm reduction for drug users and former users, said
substance abuse should be recognized and addressed as a health concern
rather than a justice issue.

"They should be separate, although they are linked together."

Richard Coleman, who has worked in many homeless shelters where drug abuse
is rampant, challenged the hard-line "just-say-no" approach to drugs,
arguing the complexity of the problem requires a well co-ordinated solution.

"Shelters are jail-like institutions where people are denied their
privacy," said Coleman, co-ordinator with the Toronto Drug Treatment Court.

"For $40 a day that it costs to provide basic shelter service per person,
we can get these people an OK apartment, fill up their fridge and buy them
a Metropass."

May Sirk, who said her nephew died of alcoholism at age 34, agreed saying
the facilities that treat addicts have to change.

"Drug treatment centres are like revolving doors and substance abusers are
released before they are fully treated," Sirk said.

Toronto has a range of programs and services aimed at combating substance
abuse, but there is no unifying strategy to guide or co-ordinate these efforts.

"We don't have adequate tools and mechanisms to fight drug addiction and
help families and communities affected by this problem," Rae said.

Findings from the drug strategy initiative will be submitted to Toronto
City Council by December.

Monday's meeting was the first in a series of four across Toronto. A second
meeting was held downtown last night. On Thursday, a meeting will be held
at Etobicoke's Elmbank Community Centre, while a May 10 meeting will take
place in the North York Civic Centre.

For more information, please visit www.toronto.ca/health.