RCMP and addictions officials in northern Manitoba say they're dealing with a rapid rise in cocaine use and trafficking this year, but also an increase in the number of people seeking help for their addiction.

The city of Thompson has become a lucrative market for both rock and powdered cocaine, RCMP say. Sgt. Tyler Bates said officers have made a record number of cocaine seizures this year.

"We've seized three kilograms of cocaine approximately this year, with [a] local street value of approximately anywhere in the vicinity of $800,000 to $900,000," Bates said.

Within a three-week span in November, police made two of their largest cocaine seizures in Thompson, worth about $650,000 in street value.

The effects of the drug's availability are being felt in Thompson's addictions facility, where more people are seeking help for their cocaine addiction.

John Donovan, the northern regional director of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, said his facility never had a self-help group for cocaine addiction until this year.