CRACK 'TAKES OVER YOUR LIFE'

The power of crack cocaine addiction is so strong, some Greater
Sudbury clients who are HIV positive can't find the strength to quit.

Vicki Kett, manager of community services for Sudbury's Access AIDS,
said her organization has seen an increase in the number of clients
who have become caught up in the lurid world of crack cocaine
addiction over the past 18 months.

"We obviously watch the level of all hard drugs on the street, be it
prescription drugs or things like heroin and cocaine...and I can tell
you crack cocaine has become a bigger and bigger problem over the
past year and a half or so," she said. "That's obviously troublesome
for our organization as our mandate is to prevent the spread of HIV
and Hepatitis C.

"Addicts to hard drugs like cocaine and crack cocaine tend to not
practise safe sex, and this is very problematic as there has been an
increase in sexually transmitted diseases among this population."

Because crack cocaine is so powerful, addicts lose respect for
themselves and others and tend to enter into high-risk behaviour,
which often has very serious health consequences, said Kett.

"It's a drug that takes over a person's life...it's all they think
about every passing minute of the day," she said. "Many crack addicts
no longer care about their health and of course we know many women
resort to prostitution to get the money to feed their habit."

Outreach workers who volunteer for Access AIDS agree the problem with
crack cocaine has escalated from the outskirts to a mainstream
problem within two years, said Kett.

"We heard rumblings about this stuff infiltrating our community
within the past 18 months, and we certainly know there are many more
addicts out there now," she said.

"We learn a lot from our clientele as well, and they've informed us
how serious a problem crack cocaine is becoming."

Kett said it breaks her heart to see a client who is HIV positive
unwilling or unable to quit smoking crack even when they are in such
poor health.

"I see clients all the time who I know don't want to be turning
tricks, but they just don't have the power to quit this drug," she
said. "It really is heartbreaking.

"It's like a ball that keeps spinning and spinning and eventually
their life is totally out of control...they're already very sick and
this drug just makes them sicker."

National studies show the number of crack addicts across Canada is
growing for the first time in 15 years, and more and more young
people are trying the drug and getting hooked, said Kett.

This is sure to cause serious societal and health care problems down the road.

Why so many young people would even consider wanting to experiment
with such a potentially destructive drug is worrisome, said Kett.

"It's wonderful to sit back and say we live in this wonderful
isolated part of Northern Ontario and say this problem doesn't exist
here, but it does," said Kett.

"It all starts inside individual homes...some parents just might have
to sit back and perhaps re-evaluate if their regular drinking might
be having some effects on the decisions their children are making."

Kett said she believes a multi-layered approach involving awareness,
education, rehabilitiation and enforcement is needed to reduce the problem.

"It's going to take a community effort to address the serious
problems of drug addiction not only in Greater Sudbury, but all
across the country," she said. "There are no easy solutions."

[Sidebars]

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reports in 2005, about one
Ontario student in 20 in Grades 7 to 12 said he or she had used
cocaine at least once in the past year. This would equal almost
43,000 students.

About one Ontario student in 50 said he or she had used crack at last
once in the past year. This would equal more than 19,000 students.

The Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse describes crack cocaine as a
highly-addictive stimulant derived from powdered cocaine. Crack is
formed when cocaine is dissolved and boiled in a mixture of other
liquids until it forms lumps or rocks.

The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound the rock makes when heated.