Ottawa should review crack pipe program, report says

A program that has been providing Ottawa drug users with clean crack pipes to cut the spread of diseaseshould undergo an independent review, says a report commissioned by the city and released Friday.

The review is part of a"four-pillar" integrated drug strategy, which targets treatment, prevention, harm reduction and enforcement and will be considered by the city's community and protective services committee next week.

The proposed review would address conflicting concerns about the crack pipe program, said Alfred Cormier, a program consultant for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ottawa andspokesman for the Community Network, which developed the report after more than a year of work.

Critics, including Mayor Larry O'Brien and Police Chief Vern White, allege the program increases drug use. Advocates, such as city medical officer of health Dr. David Salisbury, say it has reduced the spread of viruses that cause AIDS and hepatitis C through crack pipe sharing.

"I think it's a healthy thing to have differences in opinion but that doesn't prevent us from working together," Cormier said. "Some solutions will require ... balancing efforts so we can address health concerns as well as find ways to help people access and get into treatment."

TheCommunity Network includesmental health experts, treatment centres, parent and youth groups, advocates for the homeless businesses, police and legal system representatives.

Their report also recommends thatthe city:

• Build a provincially funded $8-million, 48-bed residential treatment facility for 13 to 17 year olds in rural Ottawa by 2010.
• Increase the number of detox beds in Ottawa.
• Spend almost $1 million on drug education.
• Study whether drug addicts and former addicts need help finding housing and whether housing is available for them.
• Study the feasibility of treating crack and cocaine addicts by offering them substitute drugs, the way heroin addicts are treated with methadone.
• Widen representation in harm reduction program consultations to include groups such as police and businesses.
• Lobby other levels of government for funding and increased employment opportunities for people with substance use and mental health problems.

A report received bya city committee in June 2006 said more than 30,000 Ottawa residents reported some form of substance use problem requiring treatment, including 3,270 intravenous drug users.

Ottawa's crack pipe program started in April 2005 over concerns about high HIV and hepatitis C infection rates among drug users.

Researchers at the University of Ottawa studied the program in 2005 and found fewer users were sharing their crack pipes because of the program, but more people were using the drug.