The latest anti-drugs campaign to hit Vancouver has seen a
number of vending machines pop up selling crack pipes for the bargain price of $0.25
(like 20p). In a move by the non-profit Portland Hotel Society's Drug Users
Resource Center they hope that this will minimize the spread of sickness and
disease amidst crack addicts.
Cracked or broken pipes can cause injury or disease, and
they hope that by providing cheap and accessible pipes that this will be
minimised. They have stated that obviously they’d prefer addicts chose detox or
rehab, but they believe that minimising the risk to addicts is better than
nothing.
They’re also intending for the machines to provide a talking
point about the benefits of harm reduction. Of course I’m sure this will spark
debates, as the suggestion that this could encourage users not to quit is
likely to come up.
Ari Carrington