MORE PROFESSIONALS SEEK TREATMENT FOR ADDICTION

Edmonton - Careful not to feed his runaway cocaine habit in his gleaming
downtown offices, "Norm" began hanging out in seedy bars around Whyte Ave.

In the darkness and smoky haze, his well-known face could not be easily
seen. He could snort a white line in a beer-stained corner and feel safe.

He could feel better about himself and his slide into addiction. Among the
swindlers, prostitutes and addicts face-down on the bar or fighting
outside, he felt powerful. At least he wasn't like them.

"Around there, I was the big shot lawyer; who could touch me?" says Norm,
not his real name. The 41-year-old commercial lawyer has a successful
practice in downtown Edmonton.

The problem of cocaine addiction is growing. Cocaine and its free-based
derivative, crack, are Edmonton's most popular hard drugs.

Use among doctors, lawyers and executives is on the rise. More
professionals show up at Cocaine Anonymous meetings and face the prospect
of detox, forced there by employers and families, or by hitting rock bottom.

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission will open a new cocaine
clinic for business and industry Sept. 1 in Grande Prairie, prompted by
requests from Alberta's energy sector. Already professionals make up eight
per cent of all AADAC clients in Edmonton.

"Drug dealers won't walk into the boardroom," says Staff Sgt. Nick Bok,
head of the Edmonton Police drug squad.

"We've done surveillance where we've watched drug dealers on the street and
see people pull up in their Lincoln Continentals," Bok says.

Norm's affair with cocaine started in 1981 and lasted for years. For him,
rock bottom smacked him in the face as he found himself so wired he
couldn't come down.

His teeth were rotten, his clothes were tattered. Although over six feet
tall, he weighed barely more than 100 malnourished pounds. He missed work,
had no money and owed Revenue Canada more than $100,000, having spent his
tax payments on drugs.

He was just like the addicts on Whyte.

Not having slept for days, he showed up at his parents' back doorstep,
ashen-faced and sick. "I need help," he said.

That was 1992. He attended Alcoholics Anonymous and enrolled in cocaine
detox in Estevan, Sask., and didn't look back.

"I've been clean for six years," says Norm. "I don't even take Aspirin."

Norm heard about Cocaine Anonymous, which began in Hollywood in 1982 and is
modelled after the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. In May 1994,
Norm helped establish Edmonton's first meeting at his home, with four members.

Now there are 20 meetings a week with about 200 members. After one noon
meeting above a downtown night club, one criminal lawyer says he used to
defend drug pushers, then got caught up in their web himself.

The stigma for professionals may be worse than for other cocaine users.

"I think they do feel a bit more shame," says AADAC counselling supervisor
Barry Andres. "They're more concerned about reputation and how their usage
affects them reaching their goals."

Professionals, who are usually high achievers, fear the loss of control
that accompanies addiction, he says.

Norm adds that their social stature may prevent them from seeking help.

"Deep down inside you know you're different, you have to use these drugs.
You lose the ability to ever moderate it."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski