VICTORIA APPROVES CRACKPIPE DISTRIBUTION

Project Approved As Pilot Project

Victoria councillors have agreed to allow the Vancouver Island Health
Authority to oversee distribution of crackpipe kits in the city, but
only on a pilot basis.

Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin said such a project would have to include
an assessment of community support for the program.

Earlier this week, VIHA medical health officer Dr. Murray Fyfe asked
councillors to support distribution of the crack kits.

The kits would include a mouthpiece for crack pipes and a push stick
- -- similar to a chopstick -- used to recover hardened crack from the
pipe after it has been smoked.

It's common for people who smoke crack cocaine to have sores, cuts and
burns on their lips. Crackpipes are often fashioned from cans or glass
tubes with sharp edges, and shared among users. That means there's
potential for infections such as HIV and hepatitis C to be shared as
well, transmitted from blood on pipes through open cuts and sores.