NANAIMO 'CRACK KITS' UNDER INVESTIGATION

The Vancouver Island Health Authority will review its practice of
handing out free "crack kits" to drug users after its program caught
the attention of politicians on the Island.

Howard Waldner, president and CEO of the authority, said yesterday
his officials will rethink the strategy because of the controversy it
has kicked up.

"The issue at hand here, I think, is that we have not apparently
effectively communicated this to the mayor and I apologize for that," he said.

Gary Korpan, the mayor of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, called the
program unethical and immoral, saying he wasn't even sure if it's
legal to distribute drug paraphernalia.

"I don't know where the medical Hippocratic oath kicks in where you
are encouraging people to take poison and put it into their systems,"
said Korpan.

A New Democrat member of the legislature for Nanaimo also expressed
surprise yesterday that free crack kits were being handed out.

"I would have thought that there would have been enough sensitivity
in (the health authority) to understand that this would be a highly
political issue and that they would have consulted with the local
community first," said Leonard Krog.