COPS FEAR NEW CRIME WAVE

Drug-Dealer Plot To Peddle More Crack May
Trigger More Criminal Acts In City

An insidious plot by Calgary drug dealers to get more customers hooked
on their poison has cops and others worried a second wave of a crack
epidemic will mean even more crime on our streets. "The dealers are
beginning to limit the amount of powdered cocaine to their customers
and instead make crack out of it," a police source who did not want to
be identified told the Sun.

"Pretty soon, cocaine will only be available in crack
form."

That means more customers and bigger profits for the
dealers.

"The majority of cocaine comes into the city as powder," explained
RCMP Staff Sgt. Birnie Smith.

Dealers here perform a "cook" of the powder using baking soda in a
simple procedure to make the more profitable crack, he said.

The advantages of that are two-fold for those who manufacture and sell
the crack.

"It depends on the purity of the cocaine, but if you've got a quite
pure gram of coke, you'll get at least three-quarters of a gram of
crack out of it," Smith said.

That same gram of powdered coke, which would sell for about $100 on
the street, is now worth double that once it becomes crack, which is
even more addictive than cocaine.

"That means more addicts on the street," said the source. "They'll
have to get the money to buy it from somewhere and I can tell you few
of them have nine-to-five jobs."

Addicts who prefer to inject powdered cocaine said they've noticed the
supply is dwindling.

"Powder is getting harder and harder to find," said Ed, who asked that
his real name not be revealed.

In desperation, the 25-year-old addict said he'll take a solid rock of
crack and mix it with vinegar and lemon juice to melt it.

"It burns like hell and you don't get the same high," he said,
admitting he'll probably start using crack the way most do, by smoking
it.

Police say most crackheads are involved in criminal activities,
including muggings, home break-and-enters, armed bank robberies and
other serious of crimes.

"The crimes associated to crack can be overwhelming at times,
especially when you respond to things like three stabbings in one
night," said Dist. 1 police Const. Ryan Jepson, a 33-year-old street
cop, referring to a recent spate of violence in the downtown core.