ADDICTS HIT WITH SHOCK TREATMENT

PARAMEDICS are trying to shock young heroin addicts into realising how
close they had come to dying.

Each youngster saved after an overdose is given a medical report with
graphic details of his or her condition when found.

They get a shock when they realise they nearly died," paramedic Craig
Sankey said.

Heroin cases are soaring in Queensland as a dealers' war drags prices
to as low as $5 a hit. One addict has been treated by paramedics five
times.

"Their first question when they wake up after we've pumped Narcan (the
drug used to combat heroin) into them is 'Who the hell are you? Why
have you spoilt our trip?'", QAS paramedics spokesman Ron Henderson
said.

"They don't realise we're actually saving their lives, so we've come
up with this initiative with Teen Challenge and the Salvation Army to
show them how close they came to death."

Many victims were chronic users with little desire to kick the habit,
he said.

"We've been called out up to five times to treat the same
patient.

"Others have become addicted only recently, following a huge influx on
the streets of high-grade heroin for as little as $5 a fix.

"We found a girl who'd been to uni and had a good job lying
unconscious in the gutter and when she woke up she said, 'I want to
get off it but I don't know how'. There's a lot like that."

Mr Henderson said drug dependency knew no barriers.

"We found a beautiful 16-year-old, the daughter of wealthy and
well-known Brisbane people, lying unconscious with an older, long-time
user. They were both close to death."

Paramedics give the same care to rich and poor. "The big issue is our
attitude to drug addicts," Mr Henderson said.

"These people are not scum. They're not just losers who can be
abandoned. Every filthy-looking person lying unconscious in the gutter
has someone who loves them."

Checked-by: derek rea