CRACK COCAINE EASY TO DEMONIZE

It is disappointing that considering all that is known about crack cocaine,
the drug continues to present an allure to some members - mostly young - of
society.

Crack is a nightmare drug that is so addictive some liken heroin withdrawal
to mere "flu-like symptoms."

Unlike heroin, which requires continual use over a period of time to create
physical addiction, the addictiveness of crack takes over almost
immediately. The Alcohol and Drug Addiction Foundation of Ontario estimates
it takes an average of only three exposures to crack before its use becomes
habitual.

This makes crack a far, far more destructive drug than marijuana, alcohol,
methamphetamine, ecstasy or virtually any other drug available on the black
market.

In Cambridge last week, Waterloo Regional Police cracked down on a dope
ring that they allege was using a restaurant on Glamis Road as a front for
crack trafficking.

Over a course of several months, police purchased $40 baggies of crack from
the Caravan Restaurant. They busted the restaurant then swooped down on a
related home grow operation on Carter Street, where 181 pot plants - worth
about $1,000 a pop when mature - were seized, along with related hydroponic
equipment and the now customary hydro bypass.

Police seemed almost blase about their day's work, no doubt realizing that
what was grabbed last week still represents only the tip of the iceberg as
far as local drug traffic is concerned.

Our police frequently experience the sting of criticism when they make
marijuana busts from an increasingly vocal segment of society that is
demanding decriminalizing, perhaps even legalizing the former demon weed.
In the face of drug contenders such as crack, marijuana can no longer be
demonized. Clearly as a drug it represents the threat of an Olive Oyl to
crack's Mike Tyson, a good part of the reason why the public tends to be
apathetic toward these police raids.

There's more crack in town than any of us would care to admit. Let's hope
for continuing police pressure against this drug, a real evil that
threatens our youth, even if it means relaxing the case against pot for a while.