TAXPAYERS WILL PAY FOR CRACK-PIPE DECISION

Re: City kills crack-pipe program, July 11.

In a move that is guaranteed to cause additional costs to taxpayers,
Mayor Larry O'Brien and some city councillors have eliminated the
crack-pipe program because some angry Sandy Hill residents are tired
of finding condoms and crack pipes on their lawns.

People will continue to use crack even if clean crack pipes are
unavailable. They will use dirty, used crack pipes and they will also
face a high risk of contracting AIDS, HIV, and hepatitis. And the
cost of providing health-care treatment for these diseases will be
astronomically more expensive than providing clean crack pipes, not
to mention the enormous pain and suffering to be experienced.

But this is not about money because the total cost of the program was
likely less than what it cost for one day of the mayor's unproductive
visioning exercise. This decision is about about telling people how
to behave. Even if there were treatment facilities available (which
there are not), there is ample evidence to demonstrate that treatment
is not effective if it is coerced. So we could waste a whole lot of
money forcing people to treatment that won't work, and then they will
be back on the street and the cycle will repeat itself. It is logical
to use a harm-reduction approach and minimize the risk, to the extent
possible. It's a choice between living in the real world or on fantasy island.

Judy Girard,

Ottawa