Pubdate: Fri, 14 Apr 2006
Source: Nunatsiaq News (CN NU)
Copyright: 2006 Nortext Publishing Corporation
Contact:  http://www.nunatsiaq.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/694
Author: Sara Minogue
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

CRACK COMES TO PANGNIRTUNG

"The Demand Is Out There, That's For Sure"

Crack, a highly addictive drug made from cocaine, is now sold at $50  
for a rock about one-fifth the size of a Smartie, on the streets of  
Pangnirtung.

A long-term resident of the community, who spoke on condition of  
anonymity, said that cocaine is not new to the community, and neither  
is crack, which people have made before by freebasing coke.

What is new, she said, is that crack is being brought in for sale,  
not just for personal use.

"It's being trafficked now," she said.

The mother of three first heard about crack in town two months ago,  
and has seen it for herself.

"I saw them -- tiny rocks, four of which will fit on my pinkie  
finger, for $50 a piece."

She has also seen people who use the drug.

"After the drug came in, we really saw a lot of people with weird  
actions -- their bodies acting weird, and their eyes just not  
right... They were always kind of moving and jittering their bodies.  
They just can't stay still."

The woman said teenagers, young adults and some older men, with jobs  
and families, have been using the drug. She's concerned that some  
people will sell their hunting equipment and snowmobiles to keep  
getting high.

She's also worried about the teenagers who might not know what  
they're getting into.

"The kids don't really know what they are taking, because it's not in  
the education system, because it is not being taught at the community  
level -- what these drugs are -- and because we don't have a drug and  
alcohol [worker] in the community."

This is a repeat of the problem when ecstasy first came to the  
community, she said. Some young people took the drug with booze -- a  
very unsafe combination. When problems arise from mixing drugs, youth  
do know better than to visit the health centre, where they can be  
questioned.

"With no education, I'm just concerned that someone's going to die of  
an overdose and not quite know what they're doing."

Since the drug arrived, there have been more break-ins and  
shoplifting, she said. She's heard several people on the radio  
complaining about things being stolen from their homes.

That fits with the information on the latest court docket in Iqaluit,  
which shows Pangnirtung as the one of the biggest sources of criminal  
activity in the Baffin, next to the capital.

RCMP Cst. Scott Ksionzyk, who joined the Pangnirtung detachment as  
unit commander last August, said he's heard that crack has been  
around for the last several months.

"We're aware of it, we're concerned about it, and we're doing what we  
can to address it," he said.

Ksionzyk also said this is "probably a fairly recent development,"  
but one that is not unique to Pang.

Freebasing cocaine is not unheard of in Iqaluit, either.

The RCMP has seized crack in the capital before, said Cpl. Rob Legere  
of the RCMP's drug unit in Iqaluit. And though Legere was not aware  
of any crack in town as of this past Monday, he said there is "a fair  
possibility" that there is some.

Legere said police stay informed through a network of information  
sources, and actively investigate possible suspects.

"I just wish that our government would wake up and start to do actual  
real groundwork in the communities and not just on paper," said the  
woman in Pangnirtung.

"I think they should put a lot more money into prevention programs.  
Then they wouldn't have to do the aftercare."

In the meantime, she said, "the demand is out there, that's for sure."
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MAP posted-by: Jackl