Edition 2 - MetroWED 04 JUN 2008, Page 005
Heroin death fears for club ravers
By MATT WILLIAMS, CITY EDITOR
ADELAIDE is being flooded with dangerous heroin-laced ecstasy pills for the first time, sparking fears of drug overdoses, deaths and addiction.
Legal sources have told The Advertiser batches of ``afghani brown'' pills are being sold in the lead-up to three major dance and rave events over the next month, including two this weekend.
Dealers are selling them in 10-packs for as little as $150.
Legislation introduced three months ago, which gives police the power to use sniffer dogs to search people at entertainment venues, is yet to pass State Parliament.
``A warning needs to be out there because there are a heap of rave parties coming up in Adelaide. The drugs have been here for the past two or three weeks and we need to stop these kids from killing themselves,'' one source, who did not wish to be named, said. ``The afghani browns, or brown-speckled pills, contain brown heroin produced from opium in Afghanistan and it's a great danger to those who take it, especially smaller females.''
The Drug and Alcohol Services SA website states ``people who regularly use specific drugs, such as ecstasy and methamphetamine, regularly use these drugs at nightclubs, pubs and live music events, including raves and dance parties.''
DASSA clinical services director Associate Professor Robert Ali said it had not yet received ``any direct reports'' of heroin-laced ecstasy in SA.
Section: NEWS