Image Credit: SOURCE/ASK Wellness Centre
May 28, 2013 - 10:53 AM
Risk of overdose, violent reaction
If it looks like brown sugar or smells like perfume, don't use it staff at ASK Wellness Centre are warning.
An increased risk to users of illicit drugs comes as brown heroin and perfume-smelling crack cocaine are making some people violently ill and causing overdoses in Kamloops. Kira Haug of the harm reduction society says two people have already overdosed on a particularly strong batch of brown heroin while others are getting violently ill from crack cocaine with a floral or rose smell.
“We've heard from several people now (about the tainted crack), we're warning people to stay away from it, it's very dangerous. It can make you very, very sick, very, very quick,” Haug says. “This is the danger of illicit drugs. We often see runs of dangerous concoctions of drugs. They are cut with something unusual (and) there's a serious level of danger right now. We have to use word of mouth so people stay safer; reduce the risk if we can.”
Haug says the society hears about tainted drugs a number of ways - sometimes through Interior Health Authority or the RCMP but more often than not they'll see a trend that begins elsewhere and ends up in Kamloops. In this instance they heard about overdoses occurring in Kelowna prior to reports of any problem on the streets of Kamloops.
As a harm reduction society Haug says Ask Wellness Centre staff are there to support those people at a higher risk and as a result people are often very open with them over what is going on. This allows the society to help them with where they are at and be able to pass on information on things such as tainted drugs.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 819-3723.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013