Crack started rocking America in the 1980s. The form of cocaine, which provides a brief, intense high, peaked in popularity by the end of that decade, butbig cities are still struggling with the fallout—including how to curb the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C among users. In San Francisco, a controversial new experiment by a group calledUrban Survivors Union is hoping to reduce harm among users by giving away some 200 free crack pipes. Unsurprisingly, not everyone agrees that’s a good idea.
Though it has also been done in a few other cities, including Seattle, the idea of doling out crack pipes caused a media frenzy when it was first floated at a city health department meeting in January. In response, the city stated they do not support the practice. “We aren’t doing it because there is no evidence that demonstrates that it’s effective,” Rachael Kagan, spokesperson for the Department of Public Health, tells TIME. “Our harm-reduction programs are evidence-based and part of a comprehensive program of care. ‘Let’s start handing out crack pipes’ is way too reductionist and too narrow for the department to take on.”
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