canada is on crack too
Sun, August 29, 2004
No free pipes in Alta.
By CP
EDMONTON -- Crack addicts in Edmonton won't get access to free pipes like they do in Winnipeg unless government steps forward with extra cash, says the group that runs the city's needle exchange program. "Sure we'd do it, if we had the funding," said Marliss Taylor, program manager for the Edmonton's free needle program, Streetworks.
Crack use breaks down mucous membranes and dehydrates the addict, leading to cracked lips and mouth wounds that can offer hepatitis C, HIV and other killer diseases a route into the bloodstream.
Many crack addicts share pipes, increasing the chances of infection.
Health officials in Winnipeg recently started handing out infection control kits to crack addicts, which include glass crack pipes, matches and lip balm.
Taylor said a free pipe program wouldn't be difficult to set up in Edmonton -- there are medical supply companies that sell "harm-reduction" drug paraphernalia.