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Heroin Drought Causing Problems in England

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #660)
Consequences of Prohibition

A scarcity of heroin in England is leading to a growing number of drug overdoses and poisonings as users ingest dope cut with other substances by dealers trying to stretch supplies, The Guardian reported this week. Scene watchers there are calling it the worst drought in years.

Are you sure that's heroin? Be careful out there, especially in England
The drought is being blamed not on seizures by law enforcement agencies, but on a fungus that has blighted the Afghan opium poppy crop, reducing the size of this year's poppy crop by half. Afghanistan accounts for more than 90% of the world's opium production and likely 100% of the British heroin supply.

"There is a very significant heroin shortage across the UK at the moment," said Gary Cross, head of drug policy for the non-profit group Release.  "It has been going on for some time now, but the last two months have seen stockpiles exhausted."

"I've never known anything like it in 30 years," wrote one long-time heroin user on an on-line forum discussing the shortage.

As dealers and users scramble to grapple with the shortage, users are turning up at hospitals after ingesting adulterated heroin or, in some cases, fake heroin consisting of a powerful sedative, caffeine, and paracetamol, a bulking agent. Some have passed out after smoking or ingesting, while others have reported vomiting, amnesia, and flu-like symptoms.

"This 'heroin drought' appears to be serious and geographically widespread," said Neil Hunt, director of research at KCA, a nationwide community drug treatment service. "Street heroin is in a complete and utter muddle at the moment, and users are collapsing unexpectedly. We need to standardize information about what's out there.

"If people use this intravenously, perhaps on top of alcohol and methadone [the prescribed substitute drug for heroin], it is extremely risky," said Dr. John Ramsey, who runs a drug database at St. George's Medical School in London. "We have had many reports of people overdosing. It's really important that accident and emergency departments understand that they may not be dealing with a 'normal' heroin overdose when people are brought in," he said.

Harm reduction drug agencies are aware of the problem and working to address it. Several of them held an urgent meeting last week to discuss setting up an online warning system to give users notice about contaminated or adulterated drugs.

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

djkev76 (not verified)

another good morning all old an new. cheers 4 all that r wishing i stay clean ive gone back 2 subbies of course and nelson mandella (STELLA) and high grade weed which couldnt grt yesterday so had 2 do wiv plain old dutch does the job as already had a king size blue already 8:00am thats set me stoned 4 the day now.

to dererk if im rite my asian dealer i said bout on here he can get weights m8! but u will pay shame £££'s m8 u know im in milton keynes m8 40-45 miles from london here its 0.1 for £10-£15 0.2 for £20-£25 m8 so i wouldnt waste ur dosh sum dealers here r paying £100 n sumthing a gram m8 thats (shame)

well all keep well and good xmas n new year 2 all ya!!!

djkev76

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 4:24am Permalink
Andy (not verified)

cop in ireland smashed and dismantled 1 of the main biggest heroin suppliers in dublin city and arrested 45 people in dublin 2 days ago bollox!!!! that mean the drought will go on longer again! ggggrr

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 10:42am Permalink
sue (not verified)

hello everyone how are you all? zara hows things with you? have you managed to score anything decent ? i hate to think of you ratteling not knowing when your next decent boot will be. let me know how you are mate.    things here are all good at the moment tho god knows how long it will last for. gonna leave it there for today, hope your all ok. sue x

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 11:09am Permalink
djkev76 (not verified)

its been a cpl of days since ive checked in so it looks like same 4 every one else aswell so it looks like every one is noding again good 2 see. ive just had a hit just because my partner in crime poped around out the blue gave me a hit and it was not bad so got on doing mums bathroom tiles while avin a beer there grouted and resprayed cream and the fumes as well as the joints n beer im quite dizze now so good luck 2 u all on ur mission of a brown crimbo lads n gal's

peace love n unity

djkev76 !!!!

Sun, 12/19/2010 - 11:26am Permalink
sue (not verified)

wont let me write anything zara and djkev if you want to send me a friend request on fbook my name is sue russell and my profile pic is a ginger cat lying down, would like to stay in  contact with u both. sue x. ps most of my dealers have tun ed off cuz of the snow :( 

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 4:59am Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

 

Hey all, how r u doing?

 

Well i think the brown santa has come to north london (as well as the white one, the snow has been unreal, took me 2 hours to go 30 mins to meet the guy) for a lil bit, im gettin good gear, tis £50 on the G, big on point Gs and id say  bout 7/8 out of 10, very nice rush after hit and very good gouch, holds well. Was lucky coz i made a new contact and he is lovely, polite guy, so hopefully things r looking up. I also got a missed call from another guy so i think maybe things r gettin lil better, as i kno he wouldnt call unless he had some reasonable gear. Just hope the prices will come down soon and that everyone else gets some for xmas. Im stocking up for xmas and gettin another 3 2mrw ontop of the 4 i have now. Been going a lil crazy since i found the guy on friday, already bought 7 so far..lol.. but hey i guess i had money saved from all this crap so i thought hey why not tis good gear, gota be careful tho to not go MAD..lol.

Neway guys i do really hope that everyone will come rite now, god knows we all deserve to have a nice xmas after this awful drought.

Sending,

Peace, love and poppy light to all!

From

The Pinkster

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 3:13pm Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

In reply to by djkev76 (not verified)

AWSOME MAN, im so glad :D wots the gear like? and how much u paying? well i got the other 3 2day, the gear changed, guy was all worried, but had a hit few hours ago and tis still nice gear, a bit smoother than the other, but still all good and defo gear. Zara hang in ther girl, im sure some will come ure way soon, ill send poppy vibes ure way to ;), do tink things r gettin better or mayb this is the gear everyone was sayin all the dealers were holding onto for xmas?

 

Till l8rrrr

Pinkster

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 1:18pm Permalink
djkev76 (not verified)

In reply to by The Pinkster (not verified)

hi pinkster its not bad 7/10 my asian mate was sellin p3-p4 for £20 bout now he does p2 £20 and its dynamite'e'e'e and another guy we know does p1 £10 and u get the gouch tis the reason u chase that as from the 1st time u do it.. welcome bk shirley man so uve stocked up. well me n m8 get payed 2day awaitin his gettin here.

peace love n unity all

djkev76

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 4:29am Permalink
Andy (not verified)

pinkster  ur a lucky bastard im sooo jealous of u haha where r u from? i got ripped off by a dude in town in dublin city and there was a voice  in my head sayin SERVE U RIGHT FOR TRYIN TO SCORE YEA ANYWAY THICK FUC  anyway id say it will be back to normal in ireland by end of jan or feb at earliest!

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 4:35pm Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

In reply to by Andy (not verified)

shame man dont be so hard on ureself, i kno how that is and it SUX! thing is alot of the time u gota cross ure fingers and hope for the best, i did that 2day as that guy ran out and changed the gear, but luckily tis still good. Saw some1 said there was a bust in Ireland, u tink this is affecting u? Afgan harvest in dec/jan so gear should be bout proper as u said end of jan/feb. im in north london. Neway man i shall send u poppy light and i hope tings will come ok for u very very very soon.

Peace and poppy light

Pinkster

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 1:33pm Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

Wont let me post  anything longer than this as it says im flagged as spam, anyone know why this is? Andy i wanted to reply to u, shall try again l8r or from other pc.

Pinkster

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 5:03am Permalink
zara (not verified)

Hi everyone

Yeh, its doing the same to me, showing up as spam, wont let me write much, just to let you know, little better here in SW, but nothing spectacular at all, no nodding for me for crimbo..

Zara xx

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 8:30am Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

How do all, it's been a while & i have tried but all messages are SPAM?!

Was good, but now bad, have enough put by for xmas, Zara, Sue, Michael,Steve, K88aby, DJkev76 all the best Shirley*****

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 2:13pm Permalink
Andy (not verified)

hey pinkster thanks for reply cheers anyway i hear things are gettin back to normal in uk at the moment is that right? right, i have found the info about poppy harvest season in afgan so here the info i found out about harvest season in afghan: Badakhan= Area Cultivated: 8,325 hectares (2002 estimate)
                                                     Poppy Harvest:
                                                     June to August

                                                    Market Price:
                                                     $240/kilogram (May 2002)

 

                                     badghais  = Area Cultivated: 26 hectacres (2002 estimate)

                                                   Poppy Harvest:
                                                   June to August

                                                   Market Price:
                                                    $605/kilogram (May 2002)

                                  Helmand       Area Cultivated: 25,000 to 35,000 hectares (2002 estimate)

                                                  Poppy Harvest: April to May

so i think we will be in for long haul lol

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 10:03pm Permalink
mark_e_la (not verified)

It seems that predictions of a brown Xmas in Cardiff have come to pass.  Although prices have gone up fair bit you can get pretty good quality gear round here at £40 a T-shirt, so all is not lost.  That said, it's been good to see alot of people take the opportunity over the last few months to get clean and for the scum-bag money men losing tons of cash as they ended up stuck with un-sellable crap has been good for a laugh.  I hate people who don't use selling gear, they're the real scum.  Anyway, glad to report can finally source good quality gear in Cardiff.  What's it like elsewhere?  Have things got better.  It was reaching the point where lads were planning on nicking vans carrying tampons to chemists!!  Just in case they got lucky.  Just desperados talking.  Lucky for them things have turned round.  Have a good Xmas all and let's ask Santa and baby jesus for the UK to follow Portugal in de-criminalising all drugs for personal use.  You don't get a criminal record and in the ten years they've been following this policy, that is, if you get nicked for possession you don't get a criminal record, you just have to see a medical panel who decide if you need treatment or not.  It only turns into a criminal matter if you fail to comply with the panels recommendations.  What they've found is that drug related harm and deaths have gone down, less people are getting criminal records just for using, and the prison population is thinning out.  It started off with their governments decision that "the war on drugs" was lost and that drugs should be dealt with via the health service--it's a medical problem. 

Strange too that the Iranians of all people, who hang gays and stone women to death who've been raped, are actually advocates of the medical model.  They've got around 3 million users of smack in Iran.  They tried executions but have found that treatment works better...for example in Iran if you stay on your meds for a year and don't use on top, they give you a job as an outreach worker.  Not bad for a country that's so heavily demonised by the West and it's media.  Thoughts for Xmas.  From goucho with luv

Thu, 12/23/2010 - 12:55pm Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

In reply to by mark_e_la (not verified)

Hi Mark,

Merry xmas & all the best for 2011 ! Glad your having a brown one, as things are not so good in the West Mids. I suppose i am lucky as i managed to score some decent swag a couple of weeks ago, so i put some away. Otherwise it would of been the first xmas in 15 years without a boot !

Am i right in saying your a researcher? Do you research H in your own time, or are you an official drugs researcher? Please excuse my ignorance, its just i would very much like to learn more on the whole subject, i have sent off for the book you recommended " Heroin Century" in one of your earlier posts.

I didn't know Portugal had de-criminalised drugs, how does this affect the tourist? As for Iran, well i'm amazed they are going down the medical route, as i always thought they denied their H problems.

Cheers for the info mate, good luck for the future.

All the best

Shirley******

Sat, 12/25/2010 - 1:25pm Permalink
djkev76 (not verified)

no one is on here anymore so u must all be back 2 a brown crimbo then well same here in mk that is.. so good luck 2 u all and all goe's well 4 u's

dkev76

Tue, 12/28/2010 - 4:48am Permalink
Andy (not verified)

no i believe the drought still is ongoing in uk and the drought wont be over at least in 6months time so u can forgot it lol. ireland still is very much dry and its been like this for 3months. and every1 didnt come here to write comments because they have nothing to report lol anyway let hope the gear will be much better quality and at fair price.

Tue, 12/28/2010 - 2:15pm Permalink
MasterMandom (not verified)

All I can say is that reading alot of your comments, I feel for you guys. Hang in there.

 

But your prices are absolutely amazing compared to Australia (as in cheap).

We have a constant flow of hi grade white everywhere here. I have never had a a bad single, half or full in 6 yrs and never heard of anyone experiencing a dull bag.

But we pay almost 2X what you guys do for our supply, with a complete population of under 25 Million.

So if there is a shortage, sure our customs are as tight as a dolphins butt, and we are surrounded by water. But your gear either has to increase in price or it will head to higher paying countries. Supply and Demand.

 

You lucky bastards (up until now)

 

Good Luck

Anon

Wed, 12/29/2010 - 10:32am Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

Cheers for the wishes anon,

I have family in Victoria but they are GOD loving folk so no good to me ! At least we have retained the ashes , which is some comfort to me in these dreadful times.

Still no good in the west mids, bits & pieces about but nothing constant ( of any quality ). One man is in hospital over brum with phnumoni... er a cold! He has never had so many well wishers who ironically dont look well themselves! lol

I have all but given up now been in a meth sleep for 2 days, roll on the 4th of Jan, back to work ! ( how sad )

All the best Shirley******

Wed, 12/29/2010 - 11:35am Permalink
Anonnotts (not verified)

In reply to by Shirley****** (not verified)

Hi any news on when this H drought is gonna let up?I live about 20miles away from notts/derby n things still no better round here!Managed to get some decent xmas eve tho but that i think was down to someone keeping a bit back so some of us got a decent christmas amd i was one of the lucky few that managed to get my hands on some!im not on a script,i've had some juice put by for emergencies but nearly out of that now n no one selling any and if they are its doubled in price!!If anyone can point in direction of something good would be much appreciated.Have got transport so able to travel easily if means a chance of something decent!hope ur christmas was best it could be and hope we get some good thru soon!!

Wed, 12/29/2010 - 10:11pm Permalink
Andy (not verified)

where in west london?it still very much dry  for 3months cant believe it took longer than i expected!

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 11:32am Permalink
gooderish (not verified)

I've had proper for past 2 weeks in bristol.

not everyone has got proper but my man has. 

i've been lucky during drought, only 1 week i couldnt get and the price and deals have stayed the same throughout

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 9:59am Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

In reply to by gooderish (not verified)

Lucky you Gooderish, nah i'm glad for you mate. Well it's 21:20 on new years eve & i've just had a few of nan's ipans !  Cant get nothing decent, well to tell you the truth i stopped trying after call num 10 !

All the best ev1 for the new year .

Shirley*****

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 5:25pm Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

To all i've spoke to on hear Zara, Sue, Michael, DJKEV, Steve, Ka88aby, Gooderish & ev1 else all the best for 2011 hope you,sorry we have more luck for next year !

Shirley ( Glenn )

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 5:38pm Permalink
DjPj (not verified)

At last!!!!had some good food this morning,sizes not great but nice to have something with some H in after about two nearly three month.hope everyone else ok n having a good start to year.Hope its a constant thing now.

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:42am Permalink
djkev76 (not verified)

In reply to by DjPj (not verified)

hi every one it has been good food again here in milton keynes for the last 3-4 weeks now u get a nod off it which is good sizes still aint great tho but at least its gear now.. so good luck 2 all out there!!!

djkev76

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 10:52am Permalink
jm (not verified)

I've been getting good gear for the past 2 weeks now in walsall...been real bad prior to now but really does look like things are getting better!!!

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 3:10pm Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

In reply to by jm (not verified)

Alright jm lad, where abouts in walsall you from ? I'm from north walsall & cant get anything decent, it aint that white sh** but it aint all that either. Word is my man is coming good tomorrow but we'll see what that brings!

Cheers jm

Shirley

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 5:27pm Permalink
jm (not verified)

In reply to by Shirley****** (not verified)

im from caldmore mate...i been checking this place for updates throughout the drought but obviously it was the same everywhere but i can get the propa things again now. Bags aren't massive but at least it's gear! I got 3 good links all with good things. And lol at white trash haha i collect the bins round coalpool and blakenall so i know how scummy some are.

I got no problems giving you numbers if theres a way without showing them publicly on here...obviously you wont trust a randomer on the internet but i'm just the same as you bud so hit me back if your still stuck! Or you could just go into caldmore and ask around i'm sure plenty of people can score if i can too. It's been a long painfull couple of months and i've had my heart set on things returning to normal by the end of jan but i got the feeling people will take advantage and continue selling .1's for a tenner! Hope not!

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:29am Permalink
sliverpool (not verified)

A regular supplier in s liverpool which some folk have used for over a decade with no interruptions turned their phone off, with due warning, a couple of weeks ago. Said phone will be off for the foreseeable until situ improves and didnt know when that would be. Alternative not as reliable altho good quality and price raises from last month or so remain. Worry is that this is all still pre drought stock.

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 2:17pm Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

Happy new yrty for da stats, guess will c wot haps. How r u tings ure end?

pinkster

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 10:49am Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

HAPPY NEW YR! Stil got spam probs ugh  :/ how is every1?

Peace and poppy light

Pinkster

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 10:51am Permalink
Andy (not verified)

no problemo buddy, its still crappy here. i was told it wont be over till sept!! omg i think i cant wait that too long so i might as well out of game for good! i hear thing are going good in portsmouth london and wolves!any1 confirm that?

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 4:43pm Permalink
The Pinkster (not verified)

In reply to by Andy (not verified)

things r good here man, all my guys r on, deals r £££ cheapest is still £50 a g, up to £80, gear is good i be spending alot of cash shit,,, neway thats a confirmation, and btw if u can  get out, fuken man go fo it,, tis always the same shit with gear, u kno how it is.. well not complaining, but hey ho,, neway till l8r.

Mon, 02/14/2011 - 8:02am Permalink
DjPj (not verified)

dont know about anywhere else but derby/notts seems to be ok again if that's any help to anyone??tis more money but defo proper food.hope everyone else managing to get some ok.

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 6:37pm Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

In reply to by DjPj (not verified)

Alright djpj,

do i know anyone from Derby? yes mate Nigel Clough but i dont suppose he can help me can he ?

Seriously , i dont son, i wish i did. My man still aint come through with the pucka yet, i've only been waiting 2 weeks!

At least i'm not spending ££ on all the crap going about, like loads of peep's in this town.

All the best Shirley******

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 2:46pm Permalink
DjPj (not verified)

In reply to by Shirley****** (not verified)

wish could help u but only getting shots even tho it good,first bit was ok when my lot came back n it been improving ever since. I didnt bother for weeks,just thought with you living not that far from here you may have known someone you could ask to help. Hope things come good for u soon.

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:44pm Permalink
DjPj (not verified)

In reply to by Shirley****** (not verified)

Good to hear u can get though. That's what its like round here as well,good food but sizes pt 2 4 15. I know its crap but hey least we getting real again now!! dont seem to be half as many posting on here now so surely that's a good sign. Will let you know if it changes again or if it stays good now as someone else came on again tonight after a while so another avenue to try also!

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 5:51pm Permalink
killa-derbyshire (not verified)

In reply to by DjPj (not verified)

am derby notts guy bruv and a got henry other day from notts n it not gud at all its been like it sincei got outta lincoln in oct

Sun, 01/23/2011 - 5:34am Permalink
jm (not verified)

i wrote you a nice reply but wouldnt let me post it. Im in caldmore mate and things seem to be lookin up. If you can someway get in touch without it being public il happily give you my 3 links numbers. Been a long couple of months...i collect the bins round coalpool and blakenall etc so probably empty yours too lol!

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:35am Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

In reply to by jm (not verified)

 its a small world my old man was a bin man for 40 years! just retired had a heart attack last year. ( any clues) I'm getting a little bit of good gear but £15 a 0.1 ! it's a joke mate.

All the best Shirley ( Smith )

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 3:01pm Permalink
jm (not verified)

In reply to by Shirley****** (not verified)

Getting the spam thing again. If you use msn my addy is [email protected] and i'll sort you a few numbers. The one is a top lad the other 2 are a couple of paki's i know but theyre well sound and gear is easily 9/10. Probably weighin 0.15. This drought has done my finaces some good too tho i must say haha

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 5:48pm Permalink
Shirley****** (not verified)

In reply to by jm (not verified)

Nah mate i wont give them my  ££££, I normally go over brum for weights, very rare i score in Walsall. Thats been my problem ive lost all my contacts in this town. I dont use msn but i'll find out how mate & we will link up. We might even know each other!

All the best & Nice 1 for the replies jm.

Shirley*****

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 7:21pm Permalink
jm (not verified)

In reply to by Shirley****** (not verified)

Sound well you have my email adress now just drop me an email and il send you my number too. Don't really like the idea of posting thing on here to be fair. But ye propa small world...i kept reading your posts and assumed you were female lol soz!  I usually get 2 for 15, 3 for 20, 4 for 25 on whites and b's from willenhall but he's not on either. 50 quid on a weekend and i used to get 5 b's and 3 whites, been trying his phone in vane everyday but no joy straight tenners for now.

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 11:54am Permalink

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