IN THE NEWS

Toronto Star – 12.08.05

Police reject crack kits, safe use sites; Council voting today on drug strategy for city Proposed kits could prevent spread of disease

Proposals to hand out crack cocaine kits to drug users, and to study whether to set up safe drug consumption sites, drew fire from a senior Toronto police officer as council considered a drug strategy for the city.

Staff Insp. Dan Hayes stressed yesterday that the force approves of most of the 66 recommendations made by an advisory committee on how to deal with alcohol and drug use in the city, and wants the strategy as a whole to move ahead.

"We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater," Hayes told councillors, who are due to vote on the policy today.

The strategy recommends stricter controls on the number of bars packed together in certain neighbourhoods of the city, which creates policing and public order problems.

"The drug with the strongest link to violence is alcohol," said Councillor Kyle Rae (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) who led the committee.

The strategy says more drug treatment facilities are needed in Toronto, especially for young people.
And it recommends establishing a drug strategy implementation committee with public health staff, drug counsellors, police, federal and provincial officials, housing experts and school board staff.

The plan has four facets prevent drug abuse, treat drug abusers, reduce harm for users who aren't ready to give up their habit, and enforce the law.

But much attention has been focused on recommendations to give out pipes and other equipment to crack addicts. There's some evidence, but no conclusive proof, that the kits could prevent addicts from spreading disease to each other.

Hayes said police don't support that policy.
"Distribution of crack kits is not necessarily harm reduction; it is in fact going down a road of harm facilitation," he said. "It is just giving another tool to commit a criminal act, and it just doesn't provide a good message to society, particularly to youth, when there is state-sponsored distribution of kits that assist an illicit activity that is harmful."

Vancouver has set up sites where addicts can use drugs - often heroin - with medical staff and counsellors on site. The strategy suggests considering that for Toronto, although Rae said he's skeptical it will work here.

"Everything should be on the table," he said. "You get to say no if you don't think it's the right thing to do, but at least you've considered it."

Hayes said police don't favour the proposed safe use sites.
"The use of the term safe consumption or safe injection is an inappropriate use of the word safe, because there's absolutely nothing safe about consuming or injecting an unknown substance into your body," he said.

"The problem we have in Vancouver is very different from what we have here in Toronto."
Vancouver has suffered from "inappropriate enforcement, and an inappropriate justice system," Hayes said. "They have a desperate situation and they are reacting to it with a desperate solution."