LOCAL POLITICIAN PUSHING FOR FREE CRACKPIPES

A Victoria councillor wants the city to distribute free
crackpipes.

Philippe Lucas, who contracted hepatitis C 27 years ago through a
tainted blood transfusion, argued last week the kits could reduce the
spread of the infectious disease.

"I hate the idea of anyone at all having to deal with the hepatitis C
that I've dealt with when the spread is entirely preventable in terms
of drug use," he told fellow councillors.

Lucas said about 70 per cent of the city's intravenous drug users have
hep C, which is easily spread.

It's common for people who smoke crack cocaine to have sores, cuts and
burns on their lips. Pipes are often makeshift -- fashioned from cans
or glass tubes with sharp edges -- and shared among users.

That means infections such as HIV and hepatitis C can be shared as
well, transmitted from blood on pipes through open cuts and sores.

If council supports distribution, the Vancouver Island Health
Authority will provide funding for the kits, said spokeswoman Suzanne
Germain.

Lucas's motion will be debated by council next month.