RCMP SOUND WARNING OVER CRACK COCAINE

Crack cocaine is the drug of choice among a growing number of young people,
Kelowna police say.

The easy-to-obtain drug -- which produces an intense high and is fiercely
addictive -- appeals to teens and young adults because it can be smoked,
rather than injected.

"The main drug problem right now in the city is crack," said RCMP Sgt. John
Jordan, head of the police drug squad.

"Drug pushers know it's hard to get kids to willingly stick a needle into
themselves, so they're really pushing crack instead, because you smoke it,
for some people it might not seem all that different from pot or cigarettes
at first."

"I don't think many people in the community realize the size of the
problem," added Const. Don Powell, also of the drug squad. "Crack is very
accessible, readily available."

Because of the ready supply, the street price of a gram of crack cocaine has
dropped from $100 to about $60, police say. Even so, the highly addictive
nature of the drug means that most users turn to crime to feed their habit,
and police scoff at the notion drug use is a victimless crime.

"Almost all the robberies and break-ins around town are drug-related, done
by addicts or people with substance abuse problems," Jordan said. "They need
the money to buy more drugs."

"If you've got a $100-a-day drug habit, of course there's no way you can
keep a job," Powell said. "You're either doing drugs, or stealing to get
money to buy more drugs."

The city's drug trade is controlled by members of organized crime groups,
who rely on street-level couriers, called `dial-a-dopers,' who use pagers to
sell crack and other drugs, police say.

"It's a very well-organized system," Powell said. "Though the people at the
top rarely use drugs themselves."

Police, usually acting on tips from other drug users out to eliminate rivals
or settle old scores, make arrests and seizures every week. But they
acknowledge they're fighting an uphill battle.

"We don't see a significant dip coming anytime soon," Jordan said.

While it's extremely rare for people to go to jail for growing or selling
marijuana, even those with no criminal records will receive custodial
sentences for selling hard drugs.

But those people are quickly replaced in the lower rungs of the distribution
system by others who sell and use drugs themselves, Jordan said.

Crack is made by adding baking soda and water to cocaine, then heating the
mixture. The resulting product is highly concentrated, and gives users a
high that may last as little as 10-15 minutes.