GIRL OF 15 KILLED BY METHADONE OVERDOSE

Body Of Scots Drug Victim Found By Boyfriend's Parents After Party

A girl of 15 died after taking the heroin substitute methadone
at a Christmas party in Coatbridge.

Police were last night investigating how Kerry-Ann Kirk became
Scotland's youngest drugs victim of 1999 after overdosing on the drug,
which is usually prescribed to recovering addicts.

Kerry-Ann, who was found at her boyfriend's house by his parents on
Sunday, was one of seven people to die in drugs-related incidents
over the holi-day weekend.

Her mother, Marie, said that Kerry-Ann was not a drug user, insisting
that her death was "some kind of experiment that has gone horribly
wrong".

Mrs Kirk added: "We are absolutely devastated. Kerry-Ann was a lovely
child, so full of life and proud of her appearance. There is no way
she would have taken drugs voluntarily. She hated anything to do with
drugs.

"The whole family feels the same way about drugs. If it was drugs that
killed her I do not think she took the drugs herself."

Police confirmed that they would question the other teenagers who had
attended the party, which was held at the home of Kerry-Ann's
boyfriend, Sean Stack, and supervised by his parents. Her body was
found at 1pm on Sunday in the house in School Street, Coatbridge, near
her home in the town's Ailsa Road.

Kevin Stack, Sean's father, said that six teenagers had been at the
party, which took place while a group of adults entertained themselves
in another room in the house.

"At midnight I went through and told them it was time for bed," he
said. "Sean came through to chat to the adults and went to bed a
little later and as far as we knew all the other kids went home.

"It was only the next day around midday that we found her in the same
room as Sean but in separate beds. That was the first we realised
Kerry-Ann had stayed the night."

Mr Stack said: "I have spoken to several of the other parents and they
are all deeply shocked by what has happened to Kerry-Ann. We would
never allow drugs in our house, if that is what it was. We are very
strict about that."

Kerry-Ann's death took the number of drug-related deaths in
Strathclyde this year to a record high of 146. The previous record was
102 in 1995.

Experts have warned that the tally could rise as drug dealers have
hoarded supplies in anti-cipation of a surge in demand at Hogmanay.

Alistair Ramsay, the director of Scotland Against Drugs, called for a
review of metha-done dispensing procedures, which require registered
addicts to promise that they will take the drug themselves. While some
pharmacies insist thatthe drug is consumed on the premises, in many
cases this does not happen.

Mr Ramsay said: "This latest death is really quite distressing. If
this is a case of a youngster who has taken someone else's drug, it
highlights the danger of prescription medicines being used by the
wrong person. The system we have just now is probably as good as it
can get but we must review all the facts to make sure it is as robust
as possible."

Kerry-Ann's death was one of a series over the holiday weekend. Police
said that the body of David Adair, 26, of no fixed abode, had been
found in a house on North Shore Road, Troon, on Sunday evening.

Three hours later the body of Natasha Gartley, 23, of Scaraway Street,
Milton, was found in a house in Cockenzie Street, Greenfield, Glasgow.
Police said that both deaths appeared to be drug-related, but would
not say if heroin was involved.

The two deaths followed those of Michael McGorry, 26, on Christmas
Eve, and Andrew Drummond, 20, Derek Ritchie, 26, and David Rae, 38, on
Christmas Day. Mr McGorry's death was met with disbelief by his
parents William, 51, and Mary, 57. Mr McGorry said: "We just can't
understand it. Like most young men he liked a drink now and then but
he never touched pills of any sort."

Mr Ramsay said that a number of factors could have been involved in
the Christmas peak of drug deaths. He said: "There does seem to be an
unfortunate occurrence about this time of year. It is difficult to
explain whether it is down to the party scene or if people take stock
in some way, but there is definitely a blip."

Another factor mentioned by some drug workers is that addicts who
receive social security benefits often receive two sets of payment at
one time to cover the holiday period. One source said that some
immediately went out to buy drugs and, as a result, many overdosed.

Detective Superintendent Barry Dougall, Strathclyde Police's drug
force co-ordinator, said one problem was that purity levels of heroin
varied between 20 and 60 per cent and addicts never knew what they
were getting. He said the "vast majority" of deaths were due to
heroin, usually in combination with other drugs, and stressed that
officers in Strathclyde had seized more than (pounds)341 million of drugs
this year.

John Orr, Strathclyde's chief constable, said the seven deaths were
sad, but came in a year of "outstanding and unprecedented seizures and
detections" of drugs. He called on friends and relatives of drug
abusers to report them to police.

Mr Orr said that the force had reported 17 people to the
procurator-fiscal in relation to 15 of the 146 deaths. He called for
anyone who witnessed drug misuse to report it, even if it involved
friends or relatives.

Mr Orr added: "Sadly, may of these drug deaths result in parents being
traumatised and astounded when they find out the full extent of their
loved ones' involvement in drugs."

Throughout Scotland the number of drug deaths rose from 263 in 1997 to
276 last year. Most were caused by heroin or methadone. Three deaths
were attributed to ecstasy and 108 to diazepam.

Donald Dewar, the First Minister, said of the latest deaths: "This is
tragic and alarming news. This is why we are putting (pounds)310 million
into the Drugs Enforcement Agency."