COCAINE SHORTAGE NOT AFFECTING U.P.

ESCANABA -- The Drug Enforcement Agency is reporting a national cocaine
shortage, but local police officials say there's no such problem in this area.

According to data released by the DEA in September, the price of cocaine
rose 44 percent, while purity of the substance is down 15 percent -- a fact
DEA officials equate with a shortage.

Escanaba Public Safety Det. Sgt. Joe LeMire said there is definitely a
cocaine problem locally.

He said levels of the amount of cocaine in Delta County has remained the
same, or actually increased, while the price has stayed constant.

He said cocaine use has grown locally over the last three years.

In larger cities, police are reporting the price of cocaine has gone up by
a third and there is less powder on the street.

Police in many larger cities are attributing the cocaine shortage to
stricter enforcement, a point LeMire somewhat agrees with.

He said locally enforcement of harder drugs, such as cocaine, has increased.

"Enforcement has been stepped up and more focused on harder drugs, because
they are available here," he said.

LeMire said he feels use of cocaine has increased over the last several
years due to supply and demand.

Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) Det. Lt. Jeff Racine
said he has not seen any shortage of cocaine in the Upper Peninsula.

"Maybe on a national basis, in larger quantities," he said. "For the U.P.,
prices have remained the same, so I don't see one happening, either."

Racine said there are two ways to tell if a drug shortage is occurring
price and purity.

He said if the price of a substance, like cocaine, is rising, while the
purity is going down, there is likely a shortage. Racine said cocaine
prices have stayed the same in the U.P. He also said drug enforcement
officials no longer test for purity because the U.P. Crime Lab is "so flooded."

"We don't test for purity, we just test to see if it's positive," Racine
said. "But, we don't see any type of slow down."

Racine also said it would difficult to predict, if there was a national
shortage of cocaine, if and when its impact would hit the Upper Peninsula.

"We've got drugs coming into the U.P. from all over. It would really depend
where it's coming from," he said.

He added there has been a rise in the use of crack cocaine over the last
three years, for reasons he said were difficult to explain.

"Supply and demand. There are a lot more people cooking it up," he said.

Enforcement of substance abuse has "picked up across the board everywhere,"
Racine said. He added enforcement could diminish if planned federal cuts
take place.

Racine said President Bush has planned to reduce the Edward Byrne Memorial
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program by up to 67 percent by
Oct. 1.

The program is a partnership among federal, state and local governments to
create safer communities.

"Drug activities and violent crimes will be on the increase in large
numbers if they cut (the program) by 67 percent," Racine said.