Over the last 12 months a worrying new drugs trend has emerged on the streets of Manchester. With heroin purity plummeting, crack is being sold for as little as £5 a rock as it increasingly becomes the substance of choice for the city's rough sleepers, addicts and hard drug users. It has prompted experts to call for more support and awareness amid fears of a burgeoning crisis.
Availability and price drive shift
In the latest episode of The Mancunian Way, host Beth Abbit is joined by M.E.N. reporter Damon Wilkinson to discuss what it could mean for the city. Damon said: "Crack's kind of been bubbling under in Manchester for the last few years. But over the last 12 months it appears to have kind of become the drug of choice."
"I think it's [down to] availability and price. It's [being sold] about £5 a rock, three rocks for a tenner. Heroin is a depressant obviously. The effects of it are quite long-lasting."
More expensive habit and crime concerns
Crack is a stimulant and it has quite a short short-term effect. So one of the consequences of this is that if more and more people are turning to crack, it's a more expensive habit. Damon added: "Are they they're going to need more money to fund it? Where they going to get that money from?"
Host Beth Abbit then asked: "And that's the concern about a rise in crime, isn't it?" Damon replied: "Yes, so to fund this - shoplifting, muggings, begging, all the stuff that you see now, possibly that's going to be on the increase."
You can watch the latest edition of the Mancunian Way podcast each week here or listen on Apple podcasts here and Spotify here.
