T.O. DRUG CULTURE ON A HIGH

Coke, Meth, Ecstasy Use Takes Jump: Report

Use of crack cocaine, methadone, Ecstasy and other illicit drugs has
jumped in the past 10 years -- particularly among the young, a new
report shows.

"Our report indicates that Toronto has entered the new century with
relatively high and increasing levels of illicit drug use," said Dr.
Joyce Bernstein, vice-chairman of the Research Group on Drug Use. "It
is not a good-news report."

The 10th annual report on the use of illicit drugs -- released
yesterday by the Research Group on Drug Use -- used data from the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto Police, Toronto Public
Health and the Chief Coroner's Office.

Crack cocaine remains the dominant drug on the street, according to
the report. "Crack is notoriously a drug of the inner city, due to its
relatively low price and accessibility," Bernstein said.

The percentage of people who sought treatment for cocaine use jumped
to 35% of the total in 1998 from 6% in '84.

Crack began replacing powder cocaine in the Toronto drug scene in the
early 1990s and the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine,
primarily crack, is second only to alcohol, the report said.

Moreover treatment for cocaine is higher in Toronto than in the rest
of the province.

The incidence of crack injection is also on the upswing since the
mid-1990s.

The use of drugs among Toronto's teens has also increased in the '90s,
the report found.

The increase is especially evident for such drugs as Ecstasy,
methamphetamine (speed), cannabis and hallucinogens.

Some 26% of junior high and high school students reported cannabis use
in 1999, the highest rate since the survey began in '74.

The rate of use of other drugs also increased between 1997 and
'99.

Ecstasy jumped to 7% from 3%, cocaine to 6.4% from 2.7%, meth to 7%
from 2%, tranquillizers to 4% from 0.6%, stimulants to 8% from 3.3%
and barbiturates to 4.3% from 1%.

In addition, the number of requests for treatment of substance abuse
for youth in Toronto reached a five-year high between 1998 and '99,
according to the report.

The total number of treatment requests increased by less than 1%, but
the number of requests by people under 25 jumped 30%.

Altogether 155 people died of drug-related causes in 1998, slightly
above the average of 144 between '86 and '98.

Of those, 86 were classified as accidental and 57 as suicides.