Taking (a small) action against Ottawa's drug problem. Ottawa council scraps crack pipe program. This is a small but positive step towards addressing the drug problem in Ottawa's downtown, aka our neighbourhood.

Here is more information on the city's overall plan to address the substance abuse problem.

Update: Judging by the comments on CBC.ca, I appear to be in the minority in approving of this move. The problem, of course, is that we don't share the same priorities. For me, the top priority is the drug problem, and not the prevention of HIV among addicts. While the program may have been successful in reducing the spread of HIV, it has done nothing and may have very well increased drug use over the time it has been in operation. (Drug use has increased, but whether this is due to the pipe program has not been proven.)

Here is the text of my comment from the CBC site:

As someone who lives in the Byward Market and who walks through the Sandy Hill area every day, I am fed up of seeing drug deals happening out in the open, on people steps, in the lobby of our building. I am fed up of seeing people passed out on the sidewalk, on people lawns, etc, etc. I am fed up of being harassed by people for change (not all of whom are going to use it for drugs, sure, but I would be willing to bet that a large portion will).

If the crack-pipe program was an integral part of a rehabilitation program, where addicts had to enroll and participate in order to get the crack pipes, that's one thing. But if they are just being given out, no questions asked, then it becomes just one more free service available to addicts/etc in the market.

I would be interested to know how many of the people who support this program actually live in the affected areas. I understand that the city is looking for places to relocate some of the shelters and other service centres that cater addicts. Anyone who believes strongly in these programs might want to contact the city and recommend their own neighbourhood as a potential relocation site. If everyone in the city works together, if each community shoulders some of the load, I'm sure we'll be able to make some real progress in addressing Ottawa's drug problem.