CRACK-PIPE PROGRAM RESULTS INTEREST CHR

Time will tell if providing free crack pipes is a practical tool to reduce
transmission of hepatitis C and other diseases, says a Calgary Health
Region physician. CHR's deputy medical officer of health, Dr. Judy
MacDonald, said yesterday officials here are interested in seeing what the
recent launch of a clean crack-pipe program in Ottawa will reveal in terms
of harm reduction and the spread of diseases like hepatitis C.

MacDonald said it "is important to look at intervention tools such as
needle exchange programs," but it is too premature to endorse or dismiss
such a program for this city.

"There is always a risk when sharing items which have been in peoples'
mouths -- there is just not a lot of evidence to say it is a prime way
(hepatitis C) is transmitted," MacDonald said.

"We do know, with the sharing of needles, it is a very high-risk factor
across Canada ... what we're dealing with now is a lack of evidence as to
how important this crack-pipe sharing might be in terms of hep C and other
organisms."

"We obviously will be very interested in their program and what outcomes
are and what they find," MacDonald said.

Ald. Druh Farrell recently said Calgary should consider its own clean
crack-pipe program, along with increased enforcement, to crack down on
dealers supplying the drug and combat the spread of disease.

MacDonald said the number of hepatitis C cases have remained steady at
about 600 to 650 a year in recent years, she said.