CRACK USE SEEMS TO BE RISING

SAINT JOHN - The use of crack cocaine in the city appears to be on
the rise in the city, says an AIDS Saint John official

Executive director Julie Dingwell says the organization is passing
out at least twice as many safe crack kits as it did two years ago.

"I've always known we had a crack problem in Saint John, but it does
seem definitely worse," Dingwell said.

Two years ago, the group gave out 150 to 200 kits a month. Now, it's
closer to 400, she said.

It's possible drug dealers are making crack more available instead of
popular opiates such as Dilaudid and OxyContin, she said.

"With the methadone clinic, they're not able to sell their pills,"
she said. "It's a definite possibility."

The clinic has been successfully dispensing methadone to opiate
addicts at St. Joseph's Community Health Centre since last August,
providing an alternative to Ridgewood Addiction Services, where
counselling is mandatory.

But Dingwell said with drug users getting off opiates, the dealers -
many looking to support their own habit - need a new market.

"If people have been addicted for a very long time, I think it's
challenging to turn your whole life around and walk away from that
life," she said. "Sometimes they get on the methadone, then use a
little crack cocaine."

She said it's also possible that more people are finding out about
the safe crack kits, which provide a clean glass pipe for users to
smoke the drug. Crack smokers are at risk of hepatitis C because
their lips often crack and bleed from frequent use.

AIDS Saint John, which also dispenses clean needles, connects drug
users with organizations and detox programs.

But for Dingwell, the increase in crack cocaine is just another
reminder of the need for faster treatment and better access to mental
health services.

Coming off a crack binge, a user needs treatment almost immediately,
she said. But they sometimes have to wait a week or more to enter a
detox program at Ridgewood, she said.

It's not just poverty and lack of education that lead people to use
drugs such as crack, she said.

Often, people are self-medicating for mental health issues.

Homophobia is another issue that leads young gay people to turn to
drugs, she said.

"It's because they're trying to cope with a society that isn't very
welcoming or gay-friendly," she said.

"Drug use is just plain complex and there's no real easy answers or
solutions. But it means as communities, we need to look at why we
might be having higher instances of drug use."