Consequences of Prohibition
Problems with contaminated drug supplies reemerged on two fronts this week, with health authorities in Scotland announcing another case of anthrax among heroin users and health authorities in Quebec warning that cocaine continues to be contaminated with levamisole, a veterinary de-worming agent.
anthrax spores
"There is no way to tell if your heroin is contaminated and there is no way to take heroin which we can advise is safer or less likely to result in illness or death if it has anthrax contamination," warned Dr. Colin Ramsey, consultant epidemiologist for Health Protection Scotland. "Drug users are advised that the only way to avoid the risk of anthrax in this outbreak is not to take heroin. While we appreciate that this may be extremely difficult advice to follow, it remains the only public health protection advice possible due to the nature of anthrax infection."
Such advice dismays harm reductionists, who have called for more informational campaigns and the prescribing of pharmaceutical heroin to addicts.
Users should seek urgent medical attention in the event of symptoms such as redness or swelling at or near an injection site, or other symptoms of general illness such a fever, chills or a severe headache, as early antibiotic treatment can be lifesaving, Health Protection Scotland said. Marked swelling of a limb which has been used as an injection site is a particularly important sign of possible anthrax infection.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, the National Public Health Institute of Quebec has issued a report on levamisole contamination in cocaine (sorry, French only) in the province. According to that report, eight out of 10 blood samples taken from known cocaine users in Quebec contained the cutting agent.
When ingested by humans, levamisole can cause nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea. Chronic use can lead to neutropenia, a potentially lethal blood disorder, or a related condition, agranulocytosis.
The US DEA first reported the presence of levamisole in cocaine in 2002 and its use is on the rise. In November 2009, Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services published a survey indicating that 70% of cocaine seized in the US contained levamisole.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Grotesque
No wonder my relatives moved to Canada. I had such high esteem for the people of Scotland.
And now they are "naming" the poisons that are found in the junk. And the poisons are getting worse, I guess. Well, I don't know; I can't imagine much worse than the people "freezing" from the bad heroin in California about twenty years ago. There has always been poison in much of the heroin, no one ever knows what they are getting. It is always a chance.
Yet, they continue to use it because they are so unhappy with the way the world is. The junkies get so mixed up by it all. Remember Bigby from "Trainspotting"? The movie "Trainspotting"...
Scotland, please open up a clean heroin house for the people there. Please help these citizens. And when they get better, they will forgive you for being so unkind to them. Hopefully you will forgive them.
In reply to Grotesque by Jean Boyd (not verified)
What?
Dear Jean...
The people who "froze" weren't taking heroin, they (unknowingly) took a synthetic drug that was being misrepresented as heroin. Pharmaceutical heroin (diacetylmorphine) is actually a very safe drug which causes no significant organic damage to the body.
I live in Australia, where white heroin is the norm. No anthrax down here. No poison either. In fact the coroner in my state has told our parliament that he has never tested a single sample of heroin that was adulterated with anything other than glucose.
Also, Begby in "Trainspotting" is the only character in the novel/film who DOESN'T take heroin- he is messed up- (and a violent alcoholic), but he proudly boasts that "You won't find me putting that shite in my body" whilst dragging on a cigarrette and downing his pint.
I do agree with your general sentiment though- these problems are a symptom of prohibition, not of heroin use per-se.
Ronymous Anonymous
In reply to What? by Ronymous Anonymous (not verified)
Hi Ronymous
Thank you. The frozen people "thought" they were taking heroin.
And Begby was drinking too much. Yes, I understand. I refer to him because he is the world. Yes, I watched it many times and saw the irony. I am a little sleep deprived lately, don't want to miss anything.
Thank you, Rony : )
Anthrax spores contaminating heroin
Anthrax spores in Heroin are a product of poor quality control in illicit manufacture. They are introduced accidentally from the soil in the country of production. There have been several outbreaks over the pst few years- largely confined to batches of heroin in Eurpoe and the UK.
This is apparently because brown (base, or alkaline) heroin is manufactured using opium resin, and more plant material ends up in the final product.
(Traditionally, brown heroin has been predominantly manufactured in Afghanistan or Pakistan, and trafficked west to the Mid East, Eastern Eurpoe, and then Western Europe and Britain. Much of the traditional market for brown heroin were middle eastern smokers, not western injecting users. White (salt) heroin, traditionally produced in the Golden Triangle, is manufactured from Morphine base, and to the best of my knowledge has never been found to be infected with Anthrax spores. The traditional markets for white Burmese heroin have always been predominantly injectors).
While the UK authorities state there is no advice on how to avoid anthrax without avoiding heroin, it appears serious/life threatening anthrax infection is much more common in people who inject intramusculalry, subcutaneously (skin-popping) or who miss or rupture a vein when injecting intravenously.
See;
Unintended subcutaneous and intramuscular injection by drug users
Catherine Hankins, Darlene Palmer and Ravinder Singh
CMAJ
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/163/11/1425
Dr Jane.
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