GUELPH USERS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO 'SAFE CRACK KITS'

Guelph crack users will continue to have access to "safe crack kits,"
even as municipalities across Canada look at ending the controversial
practice of giving pipes to addicts.

"That's not going to affect the distribution here in Guelph," Tom
Hammond, interim director of the AIDS Committee of Guelph, said of
controversy, which has recently shut down similar programs in Ottawa
and Nanaimo, B.C.

The local AIDS committee has been distributing "crack kits" for about
five years. The committee does fundraising to cover the cost of the
materials that go into each kit so no public monies are spent on them.

The committee also offers a needle-exchange program for
intravenous-drug users, but a few years ago noticed more and more
street drug users were smoking rather than shooting.

Between April 2005 and March 2006, the last period for which
statistics are available, the AIDS committee handed out 877 of the
kits.

"We realized there was a need for (the kits)," Hammond said. "We saw
an increase in crack use in Guelph."

The kits include a glass stem, rubber mouthpiece, alcohol swabs,
condoms, matches and mints, as well as information "on how to take
care of yourself while using crack cocaine," Hammond said.

Many crack users will make their own pipes, he said, which are not
sterile and can have rough or sharp edges, which cut the user's lips
or fingers. When these pipes are shared they potentially expose other
users to diseases such as hepatitis or HIV.

The idea of crack-kit initiatives is to reduce the risk of infection
by providing clean, sterile pipes as well as other items -- such as
condoms -- to generally curb the spread of infectious diseases.

The programs "are effective where they are run but they are also very
controversial," said local affordable-housing activist Ed
Pickersgill, whose job frequently causes him to cross paths with
members of Guelph's drug subculture. He said officials worry if they
encourage such programs "are they putting their seal of approval on
drug use?"

The programs are not always well received.

Ottawa city councillors voted last week to cancel that city's
crack-kit program after one councillor said it was sending the wrong
message.

Such comments annoy B.J. Caldwell.

"Harm-reduction is just so common sense I can't believe people don't
get it," said the AIDS committee's prevention and outreach educator.
"It's so politicized.

"Providing safe crack kits doesn't increase drug use, it increases
safe drug use," Caldwell said.

Recovering crack addict Terri Currie has never used the crack-kit
program, but knows many people who have and sees the need for it to
continue.

"It is needed here for sure," the 41-year-old said.

But Currie said even with a supply of clean materials, it can be
tough to get addicts to put their health ahead of their need to get
high.

"I used to care more about getting high than about whether I got
sick," she said, recalling a time she shared a needle with a friend
who she knew was infected with hepatitis C. "Luckily I didn't get it.
I was really lucky."

Caldwell said the crack-kit program is designed to be non-judgmental,
so users coming in for kits are not counselled about the dangers of
drug use unless they first express a desire to get help.

"They are so thankful and so gracious when they come in," he said.
"They can't believe there are people out there who care about them
and care about their health."

For more information about the crack-kit program, call the AIDS
committee at 519-763-2255.