VANCOUVER TO HAND OUT NEW CRACK PIPES

Vancouver health officials will distribute new crack pipes to drug
users this fall as part of a pilot project aimed at reducing the
transmission of diseases such as hepatitis C.

The program, part of Vancouver's harm-reduction strategy, is expected
to start in October and run for six months to a year, said Dr. Reka
Gustafson, a medical health officer with the Vancouver Coastal Health
authority.

The intent is to help health-care workers connect with crack-cocaine
smokers to evaluate how many of the drug users are in the city and
what equipment they need to lower their risk of catching diseases such
as hepatitis C, HIV and even respiratory illnesses.

It's been estimated there are as many as 15,000 drug users in
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

While heroin users can get clean needles from needle-exchange programs
or the city's safeinjection site, new pipes aren't as easily accessible.

Across Canada, only a handful of cities, including Calgary and
Winnipeg, hand out crack pipes.

A kit with a clean, unused pipe, mouthpiece, filter and condoms will
be handed out to the participants, Gustafson said. It's not known at
this time how many drug users will take part in the pilot, which will
have an estimated cost of between $50,000 and $60,000.

"There's been a shift to crack-cocaine smoking and we want to make
sure the services we provide are the services they need," Gustafson
said.

"We know there's a demand and chances are what we're going to be able
to supply won't last very long."