The Vancouver Coastal Health hospital is unveiling a pilot program, starting in October, that will permit healthcare workers to hand out “crack kits” to participants. Each kit will hold a clean, unused crack pipe, mouthpiece, filter, and condoms. The kits are estimated to cost around $50,000. Health officials say the goal of the program, scheduled to run for up to a full year, is to prevent the spread of Hepatitis C as well as other viruses.

The Vancouver Sun reports:

The intent is to connect health care workers with crack cocaine smokers to evaluate how many of the drug users are in the city and what equipment they need to lower their risk of catching diseases such as hepatitis C, HIV and even respiratory illnesses.

Vancouver Coastal Health official Reka Gustafson explains,

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