Pubdate: Sun, 09 Feb 2014
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 The Calgary Sun
Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Page: 12

B.C. GROUP SELLS CLEAN CRACK PIPES FOR A QUARTER

VANCOUVER - A non-profit organization in Vancouver that distributed
several thousand crack pipes two years back as part of a pilot program
to protect addicts from overdosing and diseases, has sparked
controversy for installing crack pipe vending machines in the city.

The machines spit out a crack pipe for a quarter.

The Portland Hotel Society, which operates the city's supervised
injection site and manages several Downtown Eastside hotels, maintains
the move will reduce the transmission of infectious diseases and allow
users to work more closely with health professionals.

"For us, this was about increasing access to safer inhalation supplies
in the Downtown Eastside," Kailin See, director of the Society's Drug
Users Resource Centre, told CTV Vancouver.

She said the pipes are very durable and less likely to chip and cut
drug users' mouths, which helps stop the spread communicable diseases
including HIV and hepatitis.

Reaction to the initiative was understandably mixed.

"I initially thought this was a dumb idea, but if it can limit the
spread of disease, etc., that is a positive thing for all of us," one
person posted on CTV's site.

Another wrote: "Do you really think these people care if they cut
their lip or get a coldsore?

"I think by doing this you are making crack use more accessible to
young people. This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.."
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MAP posted-by: Matt