CHEAP HEROIN LURES MORE CITY YOUTHS

Count Edmonton among the western Canadian cities seeing a rise in the
number of teens and young adults getting hooked by smoking
bargain-basement heroin.

Police say the prices are making the notoriously addictive substance
attractive to younger users and more young people are showing up in
city addiction centres to get off heroin, said city police spokesman
Dean Parthenis.

Smack is attracting younger users because of its low price. A 1997 Sun
article predicted the increase in users after addiction treatments
that year rose more than 60%, with corresponding hikes in the number
of robberies and injection-drug-related HIV infections.

The latest trend with young people is to smoke heroin instead of
injecting it because it's cheaper and many believe they won't become
addicted. Users smoke the drug by heating it until it evaporates and
inhaling the fumes.

"There is such an abundance of the illegal substance out there and the
low price is a motivating factor," Parthenis said, adding more
teenagers are starting to use the drug.

"The numbers have been gradually rising over the past few years," he
said.

The price of one gram of heroin has dropped to $200 compared to $900 a
gram 10 years ago.

Police in Vancouver and Calgary are also noticing a rise in heroin use
in young people.

"We're not immune to the problems we're seeing in other larger
centres," Parthenis said.

Parents worried their children might be abusing heroin should keep an
eye out for slipping grades, a constant shortage of money and sudden
changes in behaviour, he added.