RISE IN CRACK USE FUELS CRIME IN CITY

Addict Sentenced For Pharmacy Robbery

The case of a crack addict who stole a cash register from a drugstore
while on a six-day binge in January reflects the problem associated
with a sudden explosion in the availability of crack cocaine, a
Saskatoon police drug investigator says.

Gary L. Sholer, 35, hadn't slept in about six days when he entered the
pharmacy at the Avalon shopping centre, with his face covered by a ski
mask, and ripped the till from the counter, defence lawyer Graham Dove
said.

The store owner chased Sholer to the parking lot, where an altercation
ensued, said Crown prosecutor Debbie Black.

Sholer struck the pharmacist with a metal pipe before the pharmacist
got it away from him and struck him back, Black said. Other merchants
in the strip mall, located at the south end of Broadway Avenue, saw
the incident and ran to help the pharmacist.

Police responding to a 911 call found Sholer being held by several
irate merchants.

Sholer's heart was racing and he was mostly incoherent, leading
officers to take him to a hospital before holding him in a police
cell, Dove said. His client had taken the drug shortly before the
incident, which he can barely remember, Dove said.

Judge Albert Lavoie gave Sholer 12 months credit for the six months he
spent on remand and sentenced him to an additional two years less one
day. Lavoie also ordered that a sample of Sholer's DNA be entered in
the national data bank and prohibited him from possessing a firearm
for 10 years.

The former Saskatoon employee of an auto parts dealer was working in
British Columbia when he fell in with a party crowd that used crack,
Dove said.

Sholer was convicted on drug charges there and later returned to
Saskatoon, where he found employment again. But the drug use wrecked
that, too. The robbery occurred a few weeks after he became
unemployed, Dove said.

Sgt. Dean Hoover of the Saskatoon Police Service drug unit said
Sholer's story is similar to that of many addicts who began using
cocaine and methamphetamine while working in lucrative trades in
Western Canada that provided plenty of disposable income.

"There's a lot of people who were making lots of money in the
oilpatch. They lost their family, job, home, everything, because of
crack and meth. It's gross," Hoover said.

Crack, which is cocaine that is crystallized after having impurities
cooked out of it, has become plentiful on Saskatoon streets in the
past six to 12 months, Hoover said.

Saskatoon drug investigators have found about half of the cocaine they
have bought or seized recently is in crack form, up from about 20 per
cent a year ago, he said.

Addicts may prefer crack because cocaine is often diluted by sellers
trying to maximize profits. A kilogram of cocaine that sold for
$27,000 two years ago now goes for $45,000 to $50,000, Hoover said.

Most cocaine found in Saskatoon is about 30 to 40 per cent pure,
compared to crack, which is about 80 to 90 per cent pure, Hoover said.

"They'll get more of that high they search for," he said.

Some of the crack is cooked and packaged in Calgary or Edmonton before
it gets to Saskatoon, but it is an easy process and police believe
much of it is transformed here in the city, Hoover said.

Alberta-based organized crime groups are also trying to get established
in Saskatchewan, he said.

When meth became popular five or six years ago, it was about the same
price as cocaine but the high lasted longer. The side-effects of
paranoia and psychosis were worse, however, and many users died,
Hoover said.

"People got scared. Now just a small group are using it. Many have
gone back to coke," he said, adding they are using it in the stronger,
more addictive crack form.

"Now they think they're smarter, faster and stronger, and there's more
violent crime. Every year we see more with knives and guns. As long as
you see drugs, you'll see this kind of crime."