NEW DOSE OF DRUGS ON THE WAY

There's Been a Big Change in the Way Drug Addicts Are Getting Their
Fix in the Cities.

No longer are the streets strewn with heroin addicts. They've moved
on and now prescription drugs are the way to go.

The drug of choice is known as Killers, OC, Oxy, OxyCotton or Oxy80 -
a reference to the ever-popular 80 mg tablet. These round pills come
in a variety of dosages and in capsule or liquid form. They're
prescription drugs and sold legally in Canada but drug abusers remove
the sustained-release coating to get a rush similar to heroin. They
chew the tabs, crush them for snorting, or boil the powder for injection.

While prescription drugs are all the rage in the big cities, here in
Colchester County we're dealing with the quaint, old-fashioned
problem of crack cocaine.

Because crack is smoked, users experience a high in less than 10
seconds. This immediate euphoric effect is one of the reasons that
crack became enormously popular in the mid-1980s. Another reason is
crack is inexpensive both to produce, to buy and to sell.

The problem with crack is after the high comes the low and addicts
will do nearly anything to get the money for their next fix.

What is truly worrisome is the next generation of drugs coming our way.

Ice, crystal, glass, jibb, tina - whatever the slang term - it's
crystal meth and it has destroyed many lives in Western Canada already.

There's no doubt it's coming - the question is will we be ready for
the storm when it hits?