MAJORITY OF VANCOUVER ADDICTS CAN SCORE DRUGS IN MINUTES: STUDY

A strong majority of illicit drug users in Vancouver say they can
score crack or crystal meth within minutes, suggests the findings of
a 10-year study by an independent B.C. health research group.

The report, released at a news conference in Vancouver yesterday,
revealed that 90% of respondents said they could obtain crack or
cocaine within 10 minutes.

Sixty per cent of street youth said they would be able to score
crystal meth in the same period of time.

Crystal meth is a highly addictive and potent stimulant that is
usually snorted or injected.

"These are mainly street youth in the city's west end and it's not so
much a portrait of the suburbs or kids in high school," said Dr. Evan
Wood, a spokesman for the Urban Health Research Initiative at the
B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, which published the study.

Dr. Wood said the numbers from the study show Vancouver is losing its
war on drugs.