ADDICTS GIVEN FREE CRACK-SMOKING KITS

In the name of harm reduction, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug
Users has handed out 300 free crack-pipe kits to addicts.

Yesterday, president Rob Morgan vowed to distribute hundreds
more.

"The [public] reaction has been pretty good," said Morgan. "There is
definitely a need out there for this and we're just getting started."

Each of the 500 pipe kits contains a glass crack pipe, mouthpiece,
push stick, draw screens, matches, alcohol swabs, Vaseline, bandages,
a condom and smoking instructions.

Morgan said the idea behind the kits is to give Vancouver's estimated
2,000 crack addicts a safe and clean way to use their drug of choice
and to prevent the spread of diseases like hepatitis C and HIV.

The kits are free. Users are asked to make a $1 donation where
possible to help cover costs. "That helps keep the supply going,"
Morgan said. "It's all by donation."

The network has asked the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority for
funding, but it won't commit any money until a study of the crack-kit
giveaway is completed.

Morgan said similar programs in Ottawa and Winnipeg have recently been
given funding.

Critics of the program contend it should not be funded with public
money because it condones illegal drug use. The network has been
lobbying for a crack-smoking room in Vancouver's safe injection site
- -- a plan backed by Mayor Larry Campbell -- but some groups, including
the police union, are against it.

The one-year-old site's room was recently fitted with a heavy
ventilation fan but awaits approval from Health Canada before it can
be used.