GLASGOW HEROIN EPIDEMIC KILLS 99

THE DEATH toll among drug users in Strathclyde, which covers the
Glasgow area, is expected this week to reach a record total of 100 for
1999, more than the whole of last year.

This year's figure, likely to grow substantially in the remaining four
months of the year, reflects a growing heroin epidemic in Scotland's
biggest city. Police and social services have become increasingly
alarmed as the total has risen steadily towards the milestone 100th
victim, whose death is likely to raise the issue to the forefront of
public debate.

The 99th victim, equalling the total for last year, died at the
weekend. The body of David Dalton, 23, was found at a house in Paisley.

Figures for the rest of the United Kingdom are not yet available for
this year, but anecdotal evidence suggests increasing problems in
England as well. In March and April, at least 10 people died in
Bristol after overdosing on an exceptionally pure batch of heroin.

The rising Scottish toll comes at a time of record seizures of heroin
and class A drugs north of the border - up 36 per cent last year. In
1998, 28kg of heroin was seized, four times the figure in 1996. In the
four months to July this year, police seized heroin in the Strathclyde
region worth pounds 30m.

Experts say an important factor behind the number of deaths is the
preference in Glasgow for mixing and injecting drugs - probably the
most dangerous way of taking illegal drugs and one that has led to
high levels of HIV infection.

Although the dangers are widely known, addicts seem prepared to accept
the risk, said Professor Neil McKeganey, head of the centre for drug
misuse research at Glasgow University. "In interviews with addicts who
had survived an overdose, many of the young people stated that when
they had used the drugs that had nearly killed them, they were not
really that bothered whether they lived or died."

However, Professor Mc Keganey also stressed the poor social conditions
that allowed drug abuse to flourish. He said: "Communities such as
Castlemilk, Drumchapel, Easterhouse and Possilpark have suffered years
of chronic unemployment and social neglect and have become fertile
grounds for the buying and selling of illegal drugs."

An additional problem is the lack of knowledge about what actually
works in rehabilitating drug users. Scotland has had no randomised
control trial evaluating the effectiveness of methadone as a heroin
substitute. Likewise, little is known about whether it is better to
dispense drug education through teachers, peers, parents or reformed
addicts.

Police are warning that this year's death toll will rise because many
deaths from overdoses are not recorded until post-mortem examinations
have been completed. Last year, in Strathclyde another 56 drug-related
deaths were in this way eventually added to the initial annual total,
bringing the figure to 155. Police expect the eventual 1999 total to
be similarly inflated to between 175 and 200.