INMATES WARNED NOT TO SWALLOW DRUG BALLOONS

EDMONTON - Inmates at the Edmonton Remand Centre have been told about the
dangers of ingesting drug balloons after a man accidentally died of an
overdose in his cell in 2002.

A fatality inquiry report, released Wednesday, said Brandon Christopher
Ziegler died when a small balloon containing methamphetamine ruptured in
his stomach on Dec. 23.

An autopsy showed the amount of methamphetamine in his system was about 210
times the amount found in the blood of a person ingesting a dose of the drug.

In his inquiry report, provincial court Judge Lloyd Malin offered one
recommendation for remand centre staff to discuss the "risks and dangers of
body packing" with inmates.