CRACK BECOMES THE NEW HEROIN

THERE was a time when crack cocaine was as underground as drugs could go -
synonymous with the squats of south London, the substance was known to
Scotland Yard as a "black drug" used heavily by Jamaican immigrants.

Yet the past three years have seen a dramatic rise in the popularity of the
highly addictive crystallised form of cocaine with the drug becoming widely
absorbed into the sub-culture of housing estates up and down the country
from Bristol to Glasgow. Crack, it seems, has become the new heroin, the
drug of choice for the nation's dispossessed.

The Home Office warned that Britain was on the verge of a crack epidemic
that could see crime figures spiralling even further out of control.

The latest Home Office figures released yesterday showed that compared with
1999, there was an 8 per cent rise in seizures of crack cocaine in 2000
with that figure expected to double for the year 2001.

In Scotland the figures are among the worst in the UK with the use of crack
cocaine increasing by more than 200 per cent over the past five years and
street sales of the class A drug increasing by an estimated 250 per cent
since 1997.

Speaking at a national drugs conference yesterday, Bob Ainsworth, the Home
Office minister, warned that the use of crack was spiralling out of
control, putting poor communities and young people at risk from the crime
and violence associated with the drug.

He said: "We are seeing the use of crack cocaine spreading across Britain
and its growth is giving everyone dedicated to the battle against drugs a
great deal of concern. The levels of violence associated with crack cocaine
are also very disturbing and our intelligence is telling us crack cocaine
is no longer exclusively a problem for poorer communities.

"The drug is arguably at the top of our drugs agenda at the moment."

In Scotland the increasing use of crack is causing serious concern for Jim
Orr, the director of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency, who said that
hauls of cocaine had almost trebled in the past year.

He said: "There have been signs that cocaine and crack cocaine use is
increasing in Scotland. We have also seen recent evidence of increasing
seizures of both forms and there is evidence suggesting a fall in street
prices.

"We estimate crack use has increased 200 per cent since 1997. Areas such as
the Grampians and places like Aberdeen are having particular difficulties
with crack cocaine and that is something we are already trying to combat."

The eradication of the deadly class A drug, derived by baking cocaine until
it crystallises into the "rock" form in which is sold, has been top of the
DEA's agenda for the past 12 months with detectives targeting the main
dealers in Glasgow - the central distribution point for the drug in Scotland.

Mr Orr said Glasgow was a crucial focal point for the importing of crack
and other drugs into Scotland from cities south of the Border.

He added: "Primarily most drugs come into the UK through London and then
are moved on to Liverpool before they are shipped on up to Scotland.

"Glasgow tends to be the centre for drugs distribution in Scotland but all
the country's eight police forces are working together and with the SDEA in
the fight against drugs right across the country."

As part of its annual report for 2001/2002, the SDEA announced record
seizures of class A drugs. About ?20 million worth of illegal substances,
including crack and heroin, were seized, an increase of 173 per cent on the
previous year.

The SDEA also helped apprehend and convict 172 people for drug trafficking,
up 35 per cent from 127 the previous year, while police broke up a total of
72 drugs gangs operating in Scotland.

As the statistics emerged, senior police officers north and south of the
Border warned that Britain's major cities could soon be on the brink of an
epidemic in street crime caused by addicts desperately stealing to fund
their use of the highly addictive drug.

Steve Pilkington, Avon and Somerset's Chief Constable, revealed that street
robberies in Bristol had risen by 77 per cent over the past year, largely
fuelled by an increase in the use of hard drugs, particularly crack.

The main traffickers of crack in the United Kingdom remain the so-called
"Yardie" gangs based mainly in south London. The Yardies, who originate
from Jamaica, have effectively cornered the market in trafficking cocaine
into Britain.

Notorious for using human "mules" to smuggle the drugs from the Caribbean
and South America, the Yardies have expanded their territory to Birmingham
and the north of England, where they have been involved in violent turf wars.

Mr Ainsworth said breaking up the Yardie gangs was vital in the battle
against crack.

He said: "It's no secret that we need to break up these gangs. A large
proportion of gun crime committed by black gangs on other black gangs
arises out of widespread use and dealing of crack cocaine.

"The black community does have a problem and the levels of violence with
the black community are quite extraordinary and this is largely down to crack."

A newly-released Glasgow University survey of Scotland's drug addicts found
that the use of the drug among addicts has risen from about 5 per cent last
year to more than 25 per cent this year.

The new report, entitled Drug Outcome Research in Scotland, was based on a
study of more than 500 drug users, from urban and rural areas, who have
come forward seeking help for their problem.

The study found that crack and cocaine users account for one in four of new
drug agency clients. According to the survey, crack and cocaine users in
Scotland are likely to be male and around 27 years old. Worryingly, more
than two-thirds in both cases did not think taking the drugs was a problem.

*SIDEBAR*

Drop in prises fuels addiction

CRACK cocaine is a crystallised form of the drug cocaine.

When it is smoked, it delivers cocaine - a white crystalline powder
extracted from the leaves of the South American coca plant - in very high
concentrations to the small blood vessels of the lungs, producing an effect
comparable to an intravenous injection.

The symptoms produce feelings of well-being, mental sharpness, reduced
appetite and great physical strength. It is instantly addictive.

It was invented by New York drug dealers in the summer of 1985 to produce a
smokable form of cocaine that was both more concentrated and purer.

There is no need for needles, nor is there the damage to nasal and sinus
passages associated with "snorting" cocaine.

Until recently, the expense and rarity of cocaine meant it was regarded as
a drug of the wealthy, but lower prices and a wider availability mean it
has now become more common.

Also, it is extremely easy to make. Powder cocaine is simply dissolved in a
solution of sodium bicarbonate and water. The solution is boiled and a
solid substance separates from the boiling mixture.

This solid substance, crack cocaine, is removed and allowed to dry. The
dried drug is then broken or cut into "rocks", each typically weighing from
one tenth to one half of a gram.

Because of the smaller dosages, crack is more profitable for the dealer.
The smaller dosage units also mean it is cheaper for the user to purchase a
small amount and get high.

Large doses or lots of quickly repeated doses over a period of hours or
days can lead to extreme states of agitation, anxiety, paranoia and
possibly hallucinations which generally fade when the drug leaves the body.

After-effects can include tiredness and depression. Excessive doses can, in
rare cases, cause death from heart failure.

The average crack high lasts just 15 minutes.