CRACK TAKES HOLD ON UK'S DANCE FLOORS

Ecstasy Is Being Replaced As Drug Of Choice For Middle-Class Clubbers

Henry used to be the best pimp in the country. Until recently he had
thousands of women under his direct control and wielded such absolute power
that a wide range of subjects, from the prepubescent teenagers to
middle-aged mothers, considered him the most important thing in their lives.

But today increasing numbers of Britain's prostitutes are working for a new
master: Henry, the street name for heroin, has been surpassed in the
pimping stakes by crack cocaine.

The explosion of the use of crack cocaine among the sex industry is part of
an overall growth in the use of the drug, which has risen by more than 200
per cent over the past three years. Drug workers say the first signs of a
national epidemic, as predicted by US drug workers nearly 15 years ago, are
now emerging.

Increasingly, young people see selling crack as an attractive career option
and a shortcut to fame and fortune, an image strongly reinforced by lyrics
and videos of the hip hop and garage music scene. Last week Shane Neil, a
member of the controversial garage band So Solid Crew, was charged with
dealing crack cocaine and possessing a gun. He is the third member of the
south London-based musical collective to face trial for firearms offences
in the past 18 months.

Michael Andrews, a former crack dealer in Bristol, told The Observer: 'You
leave school and you have the choice of working in a restaurant for lots of
hours, little money and no respect, or you can take a chance, sell crack
for a couple of hours a day and then be driving around in a BMW, wearing
nice clothes. There is no competition.'

According to a new Home Office report, Tackling Crack, published last week,
much of this growth in the use of crack is being 'hidden' by misconceptions
about the effect the drug has on those who use it. While normally
associated with violence and the black community, the vast majority of
crack users are in fact white. Most users manage to avoid the paranoid and
psychotic behaviour attributed to the drug.

According to the report: 'A crack user may use with little immediate impact
on their behaviour, especially when they use crack alongside other drugs.
Most crack users do use crack alongside heroin. However, as their use
increases or crack becomes the predominant drug, their dependency and need
for the drug may become more chaotic and desperate.

'Neither violence nor mental illness with be present for many users with
greater control, particularly those who use crack in addition to their main
use of heroin.'

The sex trade is a major consumer of crack and is thought to be at least
partly responsible for its growth. The report says many pimps are involved
in selling crack and, unlike heroin, crack offers no obvious evidence of
use or other signs that might put off the clients of a drug-using
prostitute. Crack also reduces inhibitions and acts as a stimulant,
allowing sex workers to operate for longer hours. The two industries
increasingly operate hand in hand, with many prostitutes purchasing drugs
on behalf of their clients and sharing them.

Last week Lambeth council in London decided that the father of shoe-bomber
Richard Reid should be expelled from his council flat in Streatham after it
was found the property was being used as a crack house and brothel.

The drug is also becoming more common among clubbers. According to leading
drug charity DrugScope, more young people are being pushed into
experimenting with crack because there are so many fears over the effects
of ecstasy use. 'There is growing evidence that clubbers are under the
mistaken belief that cocaine is a safer option,' said a spokesman for the
charity. 'Because they haven't seen scare stories about cocaine or crack,
they believe that it is a better option than ecstasy.'

This research is supported by recent studies in Scotland which show crack
cocaine is the drug of choice for middle-class clubbing teenagers.

Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, Tom Wood, told The
Observer: 'Crack cocaine is an emerging threat. There has been a 200 per
cent increase in the use of the drug, which is appearing in more clubs and
around the dance scene with some young people turning to it instead of
ecstasy.' Its growth has been orchestrated by dealers who offer smaller
'clubbing rocks' and tell customers they have run out of cocaine powder.

The spread of crack in Scotland is orchestrated by the same Jamaican
gangsters who introduced the drug to London and other major cities. Last
week 25-year-old Jamaican national Richard Vassell was jailed for three and
a half years in Edinburgh after being caught selling large quantities of
crack. In the past year Jamaican dealers have been caught and prosecuted in
Aberdeen and Glasgow, despite both cities having very small numbers of
black residents.

Police believe they have moved further afield because the market in many
cities is becoming saturated. There is also evidence of use of the drug
among the Asian community. Last week 19-year-old Deep Chimber, 'star'
salesman with Bedford's biggest drugs gang, was sentenced to three and a
half years. He dealt vast quantities of heroin, but spent all his profits
on his own crack habit.

Ministers are working with education chiefs to come up with classroom-based
ways of tackling the problem and educating children about the drug's
dangers. A Home Office spokesman said: 'It will be down to schools exactly
how they deliver but clearly crack is a dangerous drug and we want to see
how we can educate children in the most effective way.'

The Metropolitan Police is also intending to increase the number of
firearms officers, adding 50 to 200 deployed earlier, a response to a 23
per cent increase in the number of guns seized by officers last year.

But Danny Kushlink of the pressure group Transform is sceptical. 'It is
highly unlikely there will be significant success in reducing imports or
street availability, and treatment will work only for those who wish to
partake of it. I think it is crucial not to get caught up in demonising
crack and to treat the crime associated with it as a policy issue rather
than as being in the nature of the drug itself.'