DRUG PLAGUE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES

Leap In Crack Deaths In North-East Of Scotland

In an area where drugs are a fact of life, the discovery of two
bodies in a squalid harbourside flat would probably have been
regarded as little more than yet another tragic sign of the times.

However, one of the victims was a former beauty queen from a
respectable family, and the reality of a growing problem permeating
all levels of society was brought home with a vengeance.

In less than two years Saranna Buchan turned from a popular,
vivacious young woman into a down-trodden crack addict controlled by
a violent drug-dealing boyfriend 20 years her senior. When police
found her battered body and that of her lover, 41-year-old James
Logan, two weeks ago shockwaves swept through the 18,000-strong
coastal community of Peterhead. A good family and loving home had
been no protection against this modern plague.

First Minister Alex Salmond, whose constituency covers Peterhead,
last week called for a cross-party approach to end the 'scourge of
drugs', which he said was sadly indicative of a problem facing the
whole of Scotland.

As police continue their investigations into the apparent murder of
Buchan and the suicide of Logan, who had a criminal record for
violence, Graeme Pearson, the director-general of the Scottish Crime
and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), admitted crack cocaine was a
serious problem in the north east.

'Crack cocaine is a particular problem for the north-east of
Scotland. Around Aberdeen there's been regular difficulty with the
drug for a couple of years now,' Pearson said.

In Aberdeen the number of cocaine users is estimated to have soared
by more than 600 per cent in the last few years as dealers have
targeted the oil-rich city and neighbouring communities. Organised
gangs from as far as L ondon have been working hard over the last few
years to carve out a new niche market.

'These people are making vast profits dealing in misery,' said a
police source. 'They can sell their drugs in the Aberdeen area for up
to five times the prices they are getting in London.'

Health officials in Grampian have been fighting to stem the tide by
offering crack users a range of alternative remedies, such as
acupuncture, reflexology and aromatherapy, along with advice and
medical treatment to help them beat the drug.

It is estimated that of the 4,000 heroin addicts registered in
Aberdeen, about 95 per cent of them now also use crack.

Once their customers are hooked, the dealers are able to sit back and
watch profits soar in an area where it has been calculated that the
trade is worth more than UKP10m a week.

Outside the city the drugs plague has spread along the coast to
fishing towns and villages such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

In Fraserburgh Dr Sandy Wisley, who has described the problem as 'the
slow strangulation of a community and way of life', claims there has
been a dramatic rise in patients with heroin and cocaine problems.
Doctors such as Wisley are treating people whose heart rates are up
at 190 beats per minute after crack binges.

'Crack cocaine is becoming a big problem,' he said. 'If people think
heroin is a problem, just wait till crack really gets a hold. It is
one of the worst drugs known to man.'

Despite Grampian police recording a 700 per cent increase in seizures
of crack cocaine, with a street value of nearly UKP900,000, last year
drug deaths in the region more than doubled to 48.

'It is a tragedy that 48 people died of overdoses from illegal drugs
in 2006 and this figure must be one of the highest on record,' said
Brian Adam, the SNP MSP for Aberdeen North.

'I am particularly concerned about the increase of crack cocaine
dealing in the area and even though the police have made recent large
seizures of drugs, this does not seem to have hampered this disgusting trade.'

However, according to the SCDEA, which has had a number of major
successes in recent months, not least the seizure of 150kg of heroin
valued at UKP12.5m in a raid in Glasgow on Thursday, there are signs
things may be getting better across the country.

'We are involved in a war for life, not a war against drugs,' said Pearson.

'There are signs of changing behaviour. The health service reported
four years ago that the number of problematic drug abusers in
Scotland was 55,000. Currently it's just over 50,000. So something is
happening. Whether it's a blip or a trend, we'll need to wait and see.

'I think there's been a change in young people, who are now more
concerned about their well-being and health, so I'd like to think
that we can work on that by giving them the information and the
necessary knowledge to make their own decisions and begin to squeeze
the demand end of it.

'Enforcement on its own isn't going to work. Education and prevention
on their own aren't going to work. But if we combine all three as
part of a full strategy I think we can get a grip on the problem.'