Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2013
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Copyright: 2013 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Katie Starr

COCAINE CULTURE

'It used to be weed. Now it's coke and pills,' St. John's cabbie
says

Part 1 in a two-part series

The best part about waking up in the morning for Ron is that he
doesn't have to call his dealer anymore.

He starts his mornings now with reflection instead of drugs, but he's
aware that could change any day.

Ron is an addict, even though he's been clean for a decade. "I'm my
biggest problem," he says matter-of-factly.

"I'm an addict. I'll die an addict. I'm clean just for
today."

Ron is at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in St. John's. He sits relaxed
on the couch, a Tim Hortons coffee cup in his hand. This is a place he
feels comfortable.

He pauses to sip occasionally, but mostly, he talks about his descent
into drugs and his journey getting clean.

But before you can talk about getting clean, you need to look at what
comes before.

For Ron, that was cocaine, stripping, prostitution rings, gangs, trips
in and out of hospitals and police cars, and most of all, despair.

Other addicts' stories are completely different and yet exactly the
same, he says. Always the hopelessness. The sense of never getting
enough.

The wish to die.

Coke a common choice

Is Ron's story becoming a more familiar one here in the
province?

Yes, and it's a story with many different characters and degrees of
addiction, say RCMP and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC)
investigators.

"It's not necessarily a certain demographic of people who are using,"
RCMP Sgt. Steve Conohan says.

"It runs the gamut from people who are just your normal blue-collar
workers right through your professionals. And it can be recreational,
bingeing or full-out addiction." Conohan is talking about people using
cocaine, a drug whose worldwide use has stabilized in recent years,
according to the United Nations' 2012 World Drug Report.

But that trend has not echoed in Newfoundland and Labrador, where
cocaine use is increasing, say police.

RNC Const. Tim Hogan first worked in the city's drug section in 1995.
"Back then, we saw grams of coke or seized an ounce - we were happy as
a lark. We thought we'd seized a cartel," he says.

"Since then, it's just become astronomical."

Cocaine busts have become more frequent in St. John's, with notable
operations - Roadrunner in 2006 and Razorback in 2009 - resulting in
multiple arrests and revealing links to larger players in Ontario,
British Columbia and Quebec.

Times have changed though, says Hogan.

"It's different now, even just from Roadrunner in 2006. You take one
guy down, and there's already five or six or 10 big guys already
there," Hogan says.

"There's not a stepping in to fill the void anymore. There is no
void."

Dangerous mix

Another thing that's changed in the last few years is the quality of
the cocaine. Cutting it with prescription pills such as Percocet,
Ritalin or OxyContin is becoming more common, says Hogan.

It's a worrying trend with serious health risks, says biologist Anna
Hicks, who teaches a drugs and behaviour course at Memorial University.

Cocaine is a stimulant and causes the nervous system to have a "fight
or flight" response, Hicks says. Mixing cocaine with an opioid like
OxyContin or Percocet causes the opposite effect, a breathing or "nod."

The duelling messages the drugs send to the brain and heart can be
lethal, Hicks says.

"This is not a very good combination. First of all, OxyContin blocks
pain sensation and at the same time, cocaine causes that fight or
flight response that might make people become overly aggressive. They
won't feel any pain if they become violent," says Hicks.

The second level of the problem is the possibility of an overdose.
"They're not getting the full effect of either drug, so they keep
taking more," Hicks says. "Both drugs cause euphoria, so when users
build up a tolerance, that means they need to take higher doses to
intensify the high."

Cocaine's high wears off faster and causes a crash fairly quickly, so
the opioid, providing a longer high, helps with that crash, according
to Hicks.

Combining cocaine with another stimulant like Ritalin causes an
opposite biological reaction, but has just as dangerous effects on the
body - overdose, convulsions, stroke or cardiac arrest, says Hicks.

Boom and busts

The effects of drugs and the increased presence of cocaine are both
hard to argue with.

Where it gets cloudy is talking about why drug use has gone up in the
province and, in particular, St. John's.

Hogan believes it's because of the economic boom.

"When the economy gets better, the drugs go up," he says. "The guys
from Ontario, Quebec, B.C., they're here for one reason, to sell their
product. They're here because the money's here."

Coke on George

A customer at a George Street bar who wishes to remain anonymous
agrees.

"It's definitely because there's more money here now," the customer
says.

"Fifteen years ago, all we could afford was a gram of weed or hash,"
he says. "Now I've got friends who are making six-figure salaries.
They want something more. And it has a lot to do with money and status."

A St. John's taxi driver, who also wished to remain anonymous, doesn't
think blaming the oil industry, and the economic boom it's helped
usher in, is the answer.

"No, it has nothing to do with the oil," he says. "It's just the
times. It's coke and the pills now. Just like we used to write with
paper and a pen, and now we have computers for everything. It used to
be weed. Now it's coke and pills."

A gram of cocaine is allegedly easier to get than a gram of marijuana
in St. John's, according to a dealer who is an RNC source.

Seamus O'Keefe, executive director of the George Street Association,
has also seen a shift from marijuana to cocaine in the past 10 years
throughout the city.

"Cocaine is present," he says. "It's not as big as believed, but it's
there. George Street has tens of thousands of people coming through,
so it's going to be more prevalent, but it's happening
everywhere."

A bouncer at a George Street bar, who didn't want his name used, says
he finds cocaine in the bathroom about once or twice every Friday and
Saturday night. Hogan isn't surprised. "One of our sources, a dealer,
told me, ' Walk down George Street on a Saturday night. Fifty per cent
of the people on their phones are looking to call a taxi. The other 50
per cent are looking to buy my coke.'

"I don't think it was bravado or bragging. I believe him," says
Hogan.

Dangerous business

A disturbing cycle of violence is occurring because of the rise of
cocaine, according to Hogan.

He points to an increase in residential break and entries and home
invasions as evidence.

"What do you think that's all about? It's not about putting bread and
butter on the table," he says. "It's getting money for drugs ... or
dealers ripping off dealers. A guy has his ear hanging off, or is
slashed across the face.

'What happened to you?' 'Nothing.' ' Do you want to press charges?'
'No.'

This is the reality. With this money and newfound wealth comes
violence."

Focusing on violence, though, doesn't solve the bigger issue of why
people abuse drugs and how they can get help, Ron says.

He believes the message shouldn't be anti-drugs, but
proclean.

"There is hope," he says softly. "'Cause I was dead. And today's full
of love, hope, joy."

Ron's story has a happy ending, but he's aware it could still be very
different.

"I see people come and go all the time," he says. "They'll be eight
months clean and then go back. I don't get pissed at them, though,
because I know it could be me. It's not just one day at a time, it's
one minute at a time.

It's one second at a time."

Ron takes a breath, picks up his empty cup, and zips up his
jacket.

Shoulders hunched against the cold, he heads outside and starts
walking.

One step at a time.

Tomorrow: Cocaine in the workplace

[sidebar]

THE LOWDOWN ON COCAINE

Effects of cocaine use: hyperactivity, irritability, anxiety, long
periods without eating or sleeping, paranoia, acting out, heart
disturbance, chest pains, respiratory failure, heart failure, stroke
and seizure.

Cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy are the most common drugs in
Newfoundland and Labrador.

The street price of cocaine here is roughly $80/gram, comparable to
other major Canadian cities.

Cocaine can be smoked (crack), injected or inhaled.

Cocaine is a Schedule 1 substance under the Criminal Code of Canada.
It carries a maximum seven-year sentence for possession and a life
sentence for trafficking and production. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D