'CHALK ONE FOR HARM REDUCTION'

Health / Mayor Incensed By Provincial Funding Of Safe Inhalation Program

After a very public six-month battle, drug users in Ottawa will
continue to receive glass pipes that reduce the spread of HIV and
hepatitis C thanks to the province of Ontario.

The two-year-old initiative was canned by city council Jul 11, 2007
after some councillors said there wasn't evidence that the pipe
program stemmed the spread of blood-borne diseases.

But the City of Ottawa-funded research of University of Ottawa
professor Lynn Leonard, released Oct 2006, found that drug users were
switching from injection drug use to pipe-smoking and from sharing
equipment to using their own - two ways of reducing infections.

The program, which received funding starting Jan 1, will be run by
the Somerset West Community Health Centre, says Jack McCarthy, the
centre's director.

"This is precedent setting," says McCarthy. "If we can fight and get
safer inhalation in Ottawa, then we can get it across the province
where it's needed.

"Chalk one for harm reduction."

The pipe program puts health professionals in contact with the city's
crack users, allowing them to make referrals to other social
services, says McCarthy. But for those who aren't ready or don't want
to quit, the program saves lives, he says.

"It's important [so that] when you get off drugs, if you do, you
don't have HIV or hep C," he says.

The AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) became a vocal proponent of the
program when it became threatened in 2007. Adam Graham is the Gay
Men's Prevention Coordinator for ACO.

"I think the province stepping up to support a program that's proven
to reduce the spread of infectious diseases is fantastic," says Graham.

Over the last 12 months, ACO rolled out an ambitious public awareness
campaign that included panel discussions and rallies to help raise
awareness about the benefits of harm reduction as part of Ottawa's
drug strategy.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record. We all know that the
evidence is there to support harm reduction," he says.

The province will spend $287,000 on the program. That pays for two
employees, supplies and a mobile station run from a van. It's roughly
comparable to what was funded by a combination of city and provincial
dollars until July, says McCarthy.

Mayor Larry O'Brien sent a strongly worded letter to MPP Jim Watson,
Ottawa's most senior cabinet minister in Ontario other than Premier
Dalton McGuinty.

"I wanted to express my disappointment," the letter reads, "with your
government's decision after Ottawa City Council overwhelmingly
decided last July to cancel this program. Most distressing to me is
that it appears this decision was taken without consultation with
council or staff of the City of Ottawa."

Watson has not responded.

McCarthy doesn't see it as a slight to the city, since the chief
medical officer of health, David Salisbury, city staff, some
councillors and front line workers agree with the program. Somerset
West did not approach council when it applied for funding, says
McCarthy, but neither did council approach Somerset West or other
service providers before cancelling their share of the funding.

Meanwhile, Graham points out that it is "incumbent" on both the city
and the province to keep residents healthy. After the program was
cancelled in July, he publicly mused about filing a human rights
complaint against the city under "disability", a category that
includes people with addictions.