Friday, June 16, 1989

BY JAMES WALLACE, TORONTO SUN

Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton says he's worried a drug called crank could invade city streets.

Crank is a crystallized type of speed made in underground labs that sells for $10 to $50 a hit in the U.S. It can be smoked, when mixed with tobacco or marijuana, or injected.

Eggleton admits he knows little about crank, but said police, politicians and the public need to work harder to stop both new and established drugs from infiltrating the drug market.

``We're not going to give up our city to drugs,'' he vowed.

U.S. officials say drug users choose crank because it's cheaper and less addictive than crack.

In the '70s, crank was popular among speed-freaks, rock bands and motorcycle gangs, said Sgt. Ric Moss of the Broward County Sheriff's Office drug task force in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

``It's a drug of moderation,'' he said. ``People can take it and still hold a job and maintain relationships.''

Crack and cocaine still account for 85% of all drugs seized by the Ft. Lauderdale task force, but crank busts have gone from zero to 3% since hitting the street there a year ago, Moss says.

The drug ``speeds up the body's processes,'' he said. ``Speed freaks do everything at 100 miles an hour.''

Moss said crank has been used in Midwestern cities since the '70s, but started showing up on the East Coast 18 months ago and is now sold as far north as New England.

© Copyright 1989, The Toronto Sun