Crack Usage on the Increase in Victoria – VICTORIA – There is change on the streets of Victoria. Addicts have a new drug of choice moving from heroin to crack cocaine. BC’s Centre for Addictions Research says it is not a good move. The centre says it means an increase in mental illness leaving downtown Victoria a sicker and more unstable place. But police and the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) don’t entirely agree. They say the increase in violence in the downtown core is the result of a legal substance readily available at hundreds of locations. The Centre for Addictions Research says addicts are making the switch to cocaine and crack because the drugs are readily accessible and cheap. The upside to the change is fewer deaths due to overdose, but the VIHA says the more popular psychotropic drugs present their own challenges with an increase in Hepatitis. There is also the issue of psychosis. Users can often spend days without sleep putting them in a delirious state; a scene which has lead to a perception downtown Victoria is not safe. Victoria Police say they have seen a growing increase in violence, but they attribute much of that to alcohol use. VIHA says when it comes to dealing with severe drug use progress is being made and for that success to continue it needs sustained funding.
Recovering homeless reflect on their changing lives
Filed under:crack addictions
Dewhart, a 53-year-old recovering crack addict who has spent months putting her life back together, said she listed three items when Lord of the Streets staffers asked her to fill out the Christmas gift wish list: iron, ironing board and a three-piece … Read more on Houston Chronicle
