GRAND CRACK PIPE GIVEAWAY DRAPES DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE

VCH spends $60,000 on 60,000 pipes

In the Downtown Eastside, crack cocaine is king. As the
neighbourhood's most popular drug, it's used solely or with other
drugs such as heroin or methadone. It's a symptom and cause of
widespread misery.

All along Hasting Street, a gauntlet of crack dealers flog their
wares. "Rock." "Base." "Best rock right here." According to locals,
quality varies depending on the dealer and the price. A typical crack
"rock" sells for $10. "But most of it's shit," said Allan Diplock, a
short, fidgety 42-year-old with thick bifocals whom I met last Friday
morning. Standing on a rain-soaked East Hastings street corner,
Diplock represents the target demographic for the provincial
government's latest harm reduction experiment in the Downtown Eastside.

Beginning last month, for at least the next eight months, Vancouver
Coastal Health, through proxy locations around the neighbourhood,
will give away crack pipe kits to anyone no matter their age or state
of addiction. According to theory, fresh pipes limit the spread of
disease such as hepatitis C. Give an addict a new pipe, they say, and
you'll decrease infection rates. The project will cost $60,000 and
include 60,000 pipes. Despite sections 462.1 and 462.2 of the
Criminal Code, which prohibit the promotion of "instruments or
literature for illicit drug use," it's the grandest crack pipe
giveaway in Canadian history.

Last Friday, I visited three crack pipe distributors in the Downtown
Eastside. First stop: the Lookout Downtown Hazelton Residence, a
squat brick building on Alexander Street where Sarah, a smiley young
redhead, stood behind the front counter.

"Can I have a crack pipe, please?"

"Sure," said Sarah, reaching into a plastic bin full of crack pipe
kits. Each kit, packed in a Ziploc bag, includes a four-inch
cylindrical glass pipe, 10 metal pipe screens, two plastic
mouthpieces, eight alcohol swabs, two skinny wooden push sticks and a
how-to manual boasting the VCH slogan "Promoting wellness. Ensuring
care" alongside a 1-866 detox hotline. Although I never asked for
extras, Sarah gave me two pipes and bade me farewell.

Next stop, 380 East Hastings, headquarters of the Vancouver Area
Network of Drug Users. A busy place with a constant stream of people
flowing through VANDU's brick archway. Behind another front counter,
Marlene, a First Nations women with a black ponytail and leather
jacket, smiled at me.

"Can I have a crack pipe, please?"

"No problem."

Before leaving, I asked Marlene about drug treatment options. She
referred me to her colleague-a tall, bearded thirtysomething in an
L.A. Dodgers hat. "We're not expert on that," he said. "Our
suggestion is to go to Insite." (Incidental footnote: During a letter
to the Courier last September, Patricia Daly, VCH's chief medical
health officer, said "health care providers" who are "professionals"
would distribute crack pipes. Marlene and the L.A. Dodger may be
nice, but they're not health care professionals.)

Outside on the sidewalk, Jennifer Gravelle, who also received a kit
from Marlene, inspected her pipe. Now 30 years old, Gravelle's smoked
crack for 10 years. The rain flattened her brown hair and left two
circles of pink blush on each cheekbone. "I think it's awesome," she
said, noting the many pipes she's received from VANDU over the past
few weeks. "People sharing crack pipes is not a good idea." But has
anyone from VANDU asked about your situation or recommended treatment
options? "Nope. Never."

Last stop. The Washington Needle Depot at Main and Hastings. To find
the depot, walk west on Hastings from Main Street, take your first
left into an alley and enter the second door (slightly ajar) to meet
Lawrence, a grey-haired deadringer of late comedian George Carlin.

"Can I have two crack pipes, please?"

"OK. But you can't come back today."

Lawrence didn't want me "back today" because crack pipes sell on the
black market, although the market impact of government pipes remains
unknown. However, back on the street: "I don't like it," said Allan
Diplock while wiping raindrops off his bifocals. "Why buy a pipe on
the street if you can get one for free?" To subsidize his crack
habit, Diplock sells pipes on Hastings for a buck a piece. I showed
him my five-pipe stash. He shook his head and smiled. "That's what
I'm talking about. It doesn't make sense."