MARKET FORCES CUT HEROIN PRICE

Canadian police forces are unhappy to observe a buyer's market in the past
five or six years for a particularly ugly consumer product: heroin.

Not only has the street cost of the narcotic plummeted, but since 1992-93
the purity of the substance on offer has gone up considerably, says
Detective Ed Roseto of the heroin section in the Toronto Police special
investigations unit.

While a gram of heroin might have sold for about $700 in Toronto a decade
ago, it's now readily available for $200. And Det. Roseto adds: "We've had
grams which we've bought [during undercover operations] for $100."

Hard numbers for the heroin-addicted population in Canada don't exist, but
Richard Garlick, spokesman for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in
Ottawa, puts the figure at about 25,000 to 30,000, and says that the number
has probably been fairly stable for the past 20 years.

That suggests the current market reflects increased supply, with dealers not
yet succeeding in widening demand.

"Once people are addicted after three or four weeks, the theory goes that
the traffickers can up the price, but that in fact doesn't seem to have
happened," said Mr. Garlick. "The price has been fairly low and the purity
has been very high for a number of years now."

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst