GOOD DOC'S CURE FAULTY

A city committee this week was told of the crack addict who wants nothing
more than to take care of his health, like the hooker who really has a
heart of gold. That little nugget came courtesy of Dr. Robert Cushman, the
city's medical officer of health, who left no stone unturned in his quest
to ensure the city continue funding the free crack pipe distribution program.

Dr. Bobby, of course, is an old hand at theatrics.

He tries the same act at least once a year when it comes time for council
to decide on his department's budget, issuing dire warnings about what will
become of us if we don't do what he says.

We hoped this time things might be different when the good doctor made his
pitch to the city's health committee on such an important issue.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Now some might say Dr. Bobby is just doing his job.

And they'd be right -- to a point.

It is his job to do what he can to protect the health of all citizens of
Ottawa.

And as such, he told those of us at the committee of his strong belief that
the crack pipe program will help prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

(He had the good sense to remind committee members that these diseases,
more prevalent among drug users, could find their way into the general
population in increasing numbers if the committee didn't follow his
recommendation and hand out free crack pipes.)

Fearmongering

With no strong proof that the free crack pipes will serve their intended
purpose, Cushman instead resorted to some well-practiced fearmongering to
attempt to sway the committee.

"Remember the tainted blood scandal," Dr. Bobby had the audacity to warn
councillors.

He didn't stop there.

Instead of making his case with facts, Cushman went several steps further,
basically telling the committee -- and the packed house on hand for the
debate -- that the police have failed miserably in the war against drugs,
stating emphatically that their drug enforcement efforts have failed.

It was a malicious attempt to malign a fellow senior colleague, Police
Chief Vince Bevan.

There was no need for Cushman to use such tactics. His facts should have
spoken for themselves. They are startling and shocking enough.

For example, 21% of Ottawa's drug users are HIV- positive, the second-
highest percentage in all of Canada.

It gets worse. Of those drug users, 76% are hep C-positive, a number which
is higher than in other major cities such as Montreal. And hep C is 10-15
times more contagious than HIV.

Hep C spreads among crack smokers through broken, bleeding lips and mouth
sores.

(As an aside, one member of the public opposed to the program told me he
didn't buy into Cushman's argument. "We've been sharing marijuana joints
for 25 years, for God's sake.")

Roles Collide

But I digress.

Perhaps there are those who will excuse Cushman's theatrics.

The thing is, of course, Bevan was also just doing his job.

And there is the proverbial rub.

For some reason, there are those who want to dismiss Bevan's arguments, and
instead harp away on the fact he didn't stay for the entire meeting.

They want to ignore Bevan's stats, statistics about the correlation between
drug use and crime, about crack houses and gun use and break and enters and
robberies -- stats presented without the theatrics.

The fact is, in this particular case, the roles of the medical officer of
health and the chief of police directly collide.

Cushman is in charge of our health; Bevan is responsible for overseeing our
safety and security.

It's Bevan who's in charge of the city's war on drugs. It's Bevan we turn
to when a gun-toting crack addict robs our home.

And it's Bevan who understands that the next time he sends members of his
force out to shut down a crack house, they'll more than likely find
city-purchased crack pipes that need to be confiscated.

Just where is the sense in that?