Addicts warned of deadly batch (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Addicts warned of deadly batch

HEROIN addicts in Swindon are being warned that batches of the drug are even more dangerous than usual.

Dealers in the town are selling heroin cut with the powerful sedative ketamine.

Even low levels of the cocktail can lead to an overdose, and drug agencies are warning addicts to be on their guard.

Glenys Armstrong, manager of Swindon's Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: "Ketamine is a strong sedative, and increases the sedative effects of heroin.

"It can cause an overdose at fairly low levels and result in unconsciousness or death even in users whose tolerance to normal heroin is quite high."

It was ambulance crews who first raised the alarm.

In cases of overdose, the effects of the mixture cannot be reversed in the normal way, by using the drug naloxone, which is carried by ambulance crews.

Anyone who has overdosed on the ketamine mix will need hospital treatment.

Leaflets are being given out by rehab agencies, like Druglink in Old Town, and addicts are warned to be vigilant. The contaminated heroin which has been reported in other parts of the country including Blackpool is much darker coloured than normal.

"We would like to warn heroin users to be more careful than usual, and monitor the effects of their drugs, and be aware of friends who may seem to have been affected more than usual," said Ms Armstrong.

The motive for mixing the two drugs is unclear, and sabotage has not been ruled out.

Ketamine is a prescription drug used as an anaesthetic in human and animal surgery. But it is also a recreational drug, popular on the dance scene.

Small doses of the powder result in a mild, dreamy feeling, and users have compared it to an out of body experience. Higher doses produce hallucinations, referred to as entering a K-hole.

This has been likened to a near death experience, and users have described feeling as if they are floating above their body.

Last year, the Adver reported how a batch of heroin mixed with Vallium was circulating in Swindon. The orangey pink powder slowed the heart rate, and greatly increased the risk of a fatal overdose. Some users reported unusual side-effects after injecting the cocktail, including nausea and headaches. For further information contact Druglink on 01793 610133.

Tamash Lal