COKE USE UP

The high cost and lethal risk haven't stopped cocaine from becoming
more prevalent in Northern Manitoba, CBC reports.

John Donovan, northern regional director of the Addictions Foundation
of Manitoba, told the network's website last month that northern
communities continue to fall prey to the addictive drug.

"Cocaine is not a cheap drug The people that we're dealing with
are people that have regular incomes," Donovan, referring to members
of a self-help group in Thompson, told CBC. "They're spending a high
portion of their income on crack cocaine."

In Flin Flon, police made at least three crack-cocaine related busts
in 2006, while seizures in Thompson and The Pas are increasingly common.

Flin Flon police began noticing an increase in crack-cocaine's
prevalence in early to mid-2005. Police weren't sure what was behind
the rise, but noted that the drug may be trickling in from The Pas.

Crack-cocaine is a powerful stimulant derived from powdered
cocaine.