EDITORIAL -- WHO WANTS HEROIN?

The Government of Canada has approved an $8 million grant that will offer
addicts free heroin injections three times per day. This will continue for
one year, after which addicts will receive methadone.

The study will examine whether this reduces crime and improves the health
of addicts. The Government of Canada hasn't given us any money, but we
would wager that after a year of taking heroin, it's unlikely an addict
won't be a little bit worse for wear.

The real problem with drugs is crime. Addiction fuels theft and places
people at the dead ends that can lead to homelessness, poverty, and
prostitution. People need money to fund their habit.

Some think this is a ridiculous study-it is after all the first of its kind
in North America. We're not ready to dismiss it yet. If it means that there
could be less crime, this pilot project may just have merit.

And the newspaper will have ample opportunity to watch how things go. In
Toronto, it seems, the only heroin distribution point will be at the Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health, just across the street from our office.