USERS' BRAINS FRIED BY 'CHASING THE DRAGON'

Three people are dead, another is fighting for his life in hospital
and at least seven others have severe brain damage after "chasing the
dragon" - smoking heroin.

"The ones that survive by and large do not survive with an awful lot
of brain power left," Dr. John Blatherwick, Vancouver's medical health
officer, said yesterday. "These people are really badly damaged."

In the few cases where the victim could still speak, they said they
had been smoking heroin from a dial-a-dope service. Users simply
telephone a dial-a-dope number and order their drugs, like ordering a
pizza.

"This stuff is not Downtown Eastside-only related," said
Blatherwick.

"It's around the city. That's where the dial-a-dope comes in. They are
delivering it to people who have the money to buy it and live in nice
homes."

The cases started showing up last fall. Four other cases were reported
in Vancouver about this time last year. Cases have also appeared in
Amsterdam, the U.S., Taiwan, China and the rest of Canada over the
last 20 years.

Users smoke heroin in the mistaken belief that they cannot become
addicted by smoking it, and because they do not want to use needles
which can transmit AIDS and other diseases.

But smoking the drug seems to bring on the toxic reaction, said
Blatherwick.

Authorities do not know precisely what is causing the brain damage.
The heroin could be laced with a chemical, or it could be a result of
the drug being smoked off of aluminum foil, or both.

"The problem is, we don't know what they're getting," he said. "These
people are so badly damaged that you can't get a lot of information
from them.

"We can't find the source for it and they don't have any of the drug
left. They use it all."

The resulting brain damage is called "heroin-induced toxic
leukoencephalopathy." Initial symptoms are often difficulty in
speaking or walking. Some victims are so badly brain-damaged they
cannot care for themselves.

"Jimmy," who is in St.Paul's Hospital suffering from heroin toxicity,
has worked in the past with Vancouver police to get the anti-drug
message out.

Now in his 20s, he started smoking heroin in high school.

"I think a lot of my friends were using drugs at the time," he told
The Province several years ago while trying to kick his habit.

"It didn't seem so bad. I thought, 'why am I being so uptight about
it? They're having fun and it doesn't seem like much of a problem.'

"It was less than a year from the time I started to experiment with
heroin to the time I was into heavy usage. I would smoke it daily."

Jimmy has tried to quit but, he says, "It's hard to stay
off."

RCMP Cpl. Scott Rintoul said kids as young as 15 are taking drugs of
all kinds, including heroin and methamphetamine. They start as
recreational users and soon become addicted.

"We have some pretty serious stuff happening on our streets," he
said.

- - Thirty-five people were recently charged with 61 drug-related
charges in connection with a dial-a-dope sting conducted by Vancouver
police.