Pubdate: Wed, 16 Nov 2005
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2005
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Gareth Rose

CRIME FEARS AS LINE OF COCAINE 'COSTS LESS THAN GLASS OF WINE'

EDINBURGH is being flooded with so much cheap cocaine that a line of 
the drug now costs "less than a glass of wine".

Drug workers say there is now more cocaine on the Capital's streets 
than ever before.

Between April and October this year, police in Edinburgh seized more 
than AUKP300,000 worth of the drug - compared with just over AUKP4000 
for the same period in 2003 and AUKP25,000 last year.

The trend has sparked fears of widespread health problems and the gun 
crime which is associated with cocaine and crack dealing emerging on 
the Capital's streets.

Drug experts say the growing amount of seizures - which has risen 
1200 per cent - is not down to a crackdown on drug dealers launched 
last year, but the rising amount of cocaine which has flooded the city.

The price of a gram of cocaine on the city's streets has fallen in 
the last six years from AUKP90 to just AUKP35, meaning it is no 
longer the yuppie drug it was in the 80s and 90s.

Cocaine is not bought by the line, but the cost of a gram is now so 
low that according to the city's anti-drugs chief Tom Wood, a line is 
now "cheaper than a glass of wine".

Mr Wood, chairman of the Edinburgh Action on Alcohol and Drugs Team, 
said: "It's a huge issue. People think it's a clean drug because it 
doesn't involve needles. They think it's not addictive - that's untrue.

"Cocaine has long-established links with heart problems. But it is 
still growing in popularity. It's seen as a showbiz drug used by 
supermodels and all that is proving very alluring."

The abundance of cheap cocaine has been sparked by South American 
drugs barons targeting western Europe because they believe the North 
American market has been saturated.

Holland is already "awash with cocaine", said former deputy chief 
constable Tom Wood and police now fear the supply is spreading to the UK.

It is feared the trend in cocaine use will see addicts seeking 
greater highs turn to "speedballing" - taking cocaine and heroin at 
the same time - and crack cocaine, which in cities such as London, 
Nottingham and Birmingham is linked to gun crime and gang warfare.

Mr Wood said: "As we get more cocaine it is inevitable we will get 
more people speedballing and turning it into crack.

"Crack cocaine is incredibly addictive. It takes six months to get 
hooked on heroin, but just six uses of crack.

"It is a drug associated to a world of extreme violence. There's the 
danger it would lead to gun crime in the Capital - that is something 
the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency has been very concerned about."

And there are fears the increase is set to take its toll on people's 
health. Mr Wood said users have already started reporting to health 
authorities complaining of heart problems.

Users are 24 times more likely to suffer a heart attack - whatever 
their age - because cocaine causes the heart's muscles to contract 
and ease at an alarmingly fast rate.

John Arthur, of the drugs counselling group Crew 2000, said: "There's 
been a rise in cocaine use. It's now fairly ubiquitous across the city.

"The price of cocaine in Edinburgh has fallen, but if you get 
addicted it is still quite easy to becoming impoverished.

"In terms of accessibility, without doubt there's more there [in 
Edinburgh] now than there has ever been.

"It's still seen as a fairly glamorous drug that successful people 
use, but we've got to the point where young people can afford to use 
it as well."

A police spokeswoman said: "There's evidence to suggest there's more 
cocaine in the force area. Certainly police have seized significant 
quantities in the past year. In part this is due to better targeting 
of dealers, good information from members of the public, and 
proactive drugs operations."

The number of arrests for offences involving cocaine has also risen.

Between April and the end of October there were 122 arrests made by 
Lothian and Borders police officers, while in the same months last 
year there were 91.

THE FACTS

DESPITE its glamorous image as the champagne of the drugs world, 
cocaine is a substance whose use and abuse can prove fatal.

The white Class A drug has gathered an ever-growing legion of users 
over the past decade or so, with at least one in 20 people between 16 
and 29 admitting to using cocaine in the past year, five times more 
than in 1996.

Although most users take the drug on a purely recreational basis 
every so often, about one in seven will become seriously addicted.

Cocaine users are risking a raft of potential health problems, from 
chest pains to fatal heart damage. Increased blood pressure can also 
lead to strokes, and facial deformity is also a problem, as 
illustrated by former EastEnders actress Daniella Westbrook, who 
needed plastic surgery to repair her damaged nasal cartilage.

Mental illness, stillbirth, miscarriage and suicide have also all 
been associated with cocaine, with one in five people who committed 
suicide in New York during the late 1980s testing positive for the drug.
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