CANADIAN GOVERNMENT GIVES FREE HEROIN

For our neighbors to the north, heroin users may now receive their daily
dose on the government's tab in a new clinical trial.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is conducting a clinical trial
called the North American Opiate Medication Initiative in Canadian cities
to give free heroin to addicted users in an effort to take them off the
streets, lower the crime rate and prevent health hazards, according to a
press release by the CIHR.

NAOMI plans to have 470 participants enrolled in the program at three
sites. Enrollment began Feb. 9 in Vancouver, British Columbia and will
start this spring in Montreal and Toronto, according to CIHR.

The $8.1 million study will provide half of the volunteers
pharmaceutical-grade heroin while the other half will receive methadone, a
treatment for heroin addiction and cravings. The study is funded by CIHR,
the Canadian government's health research agency, and ultimately Canadian
tax payers.

"I think it will be interesting to see what happens," said Christopher
McCurdy, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology.

McCurdy, said there is a lot of research going on about addiction and a
craving associated with the drug, and the Canadian study could produce
successful results.

"There's a lot of relation to the whole addictive process that addicts go
through," McCurdy said. "Certain situations, environments and stress are
different keys that may trigger [heroin users] to relapse."

The trial program will take between 21 and 24 months to complete.
Participants receiving heroin will be treated for 12 months before
receiving the methadone treatment for another three months.

As for a similar program in the U.S., McCurdy said he does not see one
happening in the immediate future but could depend on results from the
Canadian trial.

"I think since (drug abuse) is such a big problem in the country it should
be looked into and studied to try and make society better and healthier,"
McCurdy said.

But one Ole Miss student said she does not think a similar program would
work in the U.S.

"U.S. taxpayers wouldn't be too thrilled at paying for illegal drugs for
drug addicts," said Kezia Pigford, a senior marketing communications major.

Pigford, a native of Hattiesburg, said the Canadian program "gives too much
leeway for the addicts."

Heroin is an opiate drug derived from morphine that can be smoked, snorted
or injected intravenously.

Within seconds or minutes after use, heroin produces a feeling of euphoria,
according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse Web site. Heroin usually
appears as a white or brown powder and short-term side effects of use may
include dizziness, nausea and a change in body temperature, according to
the NIDA.

The Web site also listed long-term effects of the drug as collapsed veins,
liver disease and lung complications.

The NAOMI press release may be viewed at
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/26516.html.