Pubdate: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Times Colonist Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Note: from Canwest News Service Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) SAFE HOUSES FOR CRACK USE TOUTED TO CURB SPREAD OF HIV Government authorities should allow medically supervised sites where crack-cocaine users can legally smoke their potent drug, researchers and British Columbia's top public-health doctor urged after a new study suggested crack addicts are particularly prone to contracting HIV. Sanctioned, safe crack houses would help curb the rampant transmission of dangerous infections among cocaine smokers, say proponents of the latest version of harm reduction, a controversial strategy that essentially condones an illegal activity to prevent an allegedly worse health problem. They also recommended that public-health officials be permitted to distribute "safe crack kits," including glass pipes designed to lessen the spread of viruses. "It's very unfortunate these things get politicized and made more controversial than they need be," said Dr. Evan Wood, who spearheaded the research. "But given the costs and challenges of HIV ... take a public-health approach to these infectious diseases that are already breaking free of their traditional boundaries." Wood is with the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, which oversees Insite, the contentious Vancouver facility where injection-drug users shoot up under medical supervision. A paper published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found use of crack cocaine had soared between 1996 and 2005, to 40 per cent from 12 per cent among a 1,048-strong sample of injection-drug users in Vancouver. It said crack users were four times more likely to contract HIV than other drug users, possibly because of burns and open sores. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D