Police in Victoria, B.C. have come under fire for posting a video on YouTube that shows how to turn cocaine into crack.
Rev. Al Tysick, who works with Victoria's homeless and drug addicted at the Dandelion Society, said there are many videos on the internet that show how to make crack – but he doesn't understand what the police were thinking.
"The police are doing a good job trying to dispel myths, and then this video comes up that I think paints a bad picture. I just don't know why they posted it," Tysick told ctvbc.ca.
In the video, Victoria police drug expert Sgt. Conor King shows what cocaine looks like. He explains drug users prefer to smoke the substance and then describes how to turn cocaine into crack rock by mixing the narcotic with baking soda and water.
Tysick is also the former executive director of Our Place, a social service agency and drop-in shelter. Working on the streets, Tysick said he has a lot of involvement with police in Victoria.
"The police do a good job in town…it just wasn't a very good public relations idea," he said.
The video was released the same day Victoria police busted a crack "cook house" in the neighbourhood of James Bay, Victoria where they seized approximately $30,000 worth of crack and cocaine.
