Pubdate: Thu, 27 Feb 2003
Source: Mirror, The (UK)
Copyright: 2003 The Mirror
Contact:  http://www.mirror.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1161
Author: Oonagh Blackman, Deputy Political Editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

WE'LL CRACK CRACK

Drugs Minister New Fight

BRITAIN'S worst areas for crack cocaine are to be targeted in a
multi-million pound anti-drug offensive.

Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth yesterday warned that more youngsters
will be drawn to the highly addictive Class A drug unless urgent action is
taken.

He unveiled the Government's National Action Plan and named the 37 cities
and communities that have the worst crack problems. The areas - including
Liverpool, London, Bristol and Birmingham - were chosen based on the number
arrested who test positive for crack and the amount seized.

They will get cash to fund programmes to help wean addicts off the drug and
to prevent children from taking it. Police will also get more cash to target
dealers and linked crimes.

Thirty areas have already been earmarked as worst hit by drug crime - 21 of
these are also high crack areas.

Mr Ainsworth said crack addicts often resort to burglary and mugging to feed
their habit.

And he said many of the 37 areas targeted are hard hit by these crimes. He
added: "Specially designed programmes, including better treatment
programmes, police work to disrupt markets, and work to keep young people
off crack, will help us turn around lives of individuals and the communities
which are the most affected."

Mr Ainsworth went on: "Some communities are suffering far more than others.
Addicts live chaotic life-styles, they commit crimes and crack houses bring
fear and degradation to neighbourhoods. People in the areas we identified
already know crack is a problem and know only too well the crime that the
drug brings with it. Drugs are related to so much crime. Lots of the gun
crime is related to the supply."

One London anti-drug project has seen a 15 per cent rise in use of crack in
the past five years.

Eric Feltin, of the Blenheim Project, said: "It's more popular among young
people and the price of the drug has been coming down."

EXACTLY WHAT DOES IT DO?

CRACK is cocaine concentrated to make it easy to inhale.

Cocaine is heated in a solution of ammonia or baking soda, making a loud
crackling sound.

Smoking crack allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain
quickly, bringing instant euphoria. Energy levels increase, users become
chatty, and feel totally in control. It also induces irritability and
anxiety.

High doses trigger paranoia and aggressive or depressed behaviour. In rare
cases users die from a single hit.

THE 37 CITIES TARGETTED

THE 37 areas in the clampdown are: Birmingham, Bradford, Brent, Brighton,
Bristol, Camden, Coventry, Croydon, Derby, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham,
Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Leeds, Lewisham,
Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newham, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading,
Rochdale, Salford, Sheffield, Slough, Southwark, Stockport, Stoke, Tower
Hamlets, Trafford, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster and Sandwell.

NIGHTMARE OF AN ADDICT

SHAW Gallagher from Rochdale, Greater Manchester got hooked as an
18-year-old in the Merchant Navy. Now 35, and after five years in jail, he
is helping others get over their addictions. This is his story:

I went from 12-stone rugby player to eight-stone addict in three months.

I experienced the sort of cravings that made me scrabble on the floor
hunting the smallest grain of crack. I would chase around all day looking
for the high you think is out there. You never actually reach it but you
keep taking crack until you either flake out or die.

Practically everyone I met in prison was in was a user and some were on the
verge of suicide.

The rush you get from crack is nothing like you've ever known - it's like an
orgasm multiplied ten or twenty times.

While heroin sends you into an opium dream, crack pushes you to virtual
insanity. You get very excited, chatty and horny and then you get your
initial crash followed by a secondary crash. You try to re-experience the
rush but the feeling is never as strong and that's why people go on taking
it.
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