News (Media Awareness Project) - CN AB: Crack House |
| Title: | CN AB: Crack House |
| Published On: | 2003-05-15 |
| Source: | Red Deer Express (CN AB) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-20 07:33:38 |
CRACK HOUSE
Red Deer is the place to come for crack cocaine say local cops.
And crack is the number one choice of users in the city, said Cpl. Brian
Donnelly of major crimes.
"Meth is making a run for it, but it's just starting here," Donnelly said.
Donnelly says counsellors in Edmonton and Calgary are telling police that
addicts on the street in those cities say anyone wanting crack should come
to Red Deer.
"It's readily available in Red Deer. We're making some arrests," he said.
"The street people who use the drug are the victims, we like to get the
dealers."
And, says Donnelly, it has penetrated our schools.
"We hear information that there's crack cocaine in a number of schools in
Red Deer, but we don't know if it's in all of them," Donnelly said.
"If people don't realize it, they have their heads in the sand."
Donnelly says smoking 99 per cent pure crack cocaine just once can make an
addict out of a person. It starts a spiral of highs and lows as more of the
drug is needed to reach the ever illusive high.
"It's almost an instant addiction," Donnelly said. "We definitely see the
results, the addicts who started out with houses and cars and end up with
nothing."
He says people from 16 to 45 are addicted to the drug.
"Cocaine is a stimulant," he explains. "In people you know well you'll see
great mood swings, sweating profusely, the heart rate goes up and their
pupils are dilated.
"You can't smoke enough crack cocaine to overdose but it's possible to have
a heart attack due to the stimulant."
A 29-year veteran of the RCMP, Donnelly says when he came to Red Deer five
years ago crack cocaine wasn't a problem. Now that's all he hears about.
A gram of crack cocaine costs about $80 on the street with dealers selling
the drug in points, one-tenth of a gram for $10 or half a gram for $40.
Donnelly links the increase in break, enter and thefts in Red Deer to the
addicts' need for money for the next hit.
"That's what the dealers are banking on," he said. "We're not going through
anything cities in the United States haven't gone through."
Red Deer is the place to come for crack cocaine say local cops.
And crack is the number one choice of users in the city, said Cpl. Brian
Donnelly of major crimes.
"Meth is making a run for it, but it's just starting here," Donnelly said.
Donnelly says counsellors in Edmonton and Calgary are telling police that
addicts on the street in those cities say anyone wanting crack should come
to Red Deer.
"It's readily available in Red Deer. We're making some arrests," he said.
"The street people who use the drug are the victims, we like to get the
dealers."
And, says Donnelly, it has penetrated our schools.
"We hear information that there's crack cocaine in a number of schools in
Red Deer, but we don't know if it's in all of them," Donnelly said.
"If people don't realize it, they have their heads in the sand."
Donnelly says smoking 99 per cent pure crack cocaine just once can make an
addict out of a person. It starts a spiral of highs and lows as more of the
drug is needed to reach the ever illusive high.
"It's almost an instant addiction," Donnelly said. "We definitely see the
results, the addicts who started out with houses and cars and end up with
nothing."
He says people from 16 to 45 are addicted to the drug.
"Cocaine is a stimulant," he explains. "In people you know well you'll see
great mood swings, sweating profusely, the heart rate goes up and their
pupils are dilated.
"You can't smoke enough crack cocaine to overdose but it's possible to have
a heart attack due to the stimulant."
A 29-year veteran of the RCMP, Donnelly says when he came to Red Deer five
years ago crack cocaine wasn't a problem. Now that's all he hears about.
A gram of crack cocaine costs about $80 on the street with dealers selling
the drug in points, one-tenth of a gram for $10 or half a gram for $40.
Donnelly links the increase in break, enter and thefts in Red Deer to the
addicts' need for money for the next hit.
"That's what the dealers are banking on," he said. "We're not going through
anything cities in the United States haven't gone through."
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