FANTASY CONFIRMED

FORENSIC tests have confirmed that a drug which caused five people to
collapse at a city nightclub last week was Fantasy.

Police investigating the overdoses are now trying to find the source of the
potentially deadly anaesthetic, which almost killed a woman, 20, and a man,
36, at a Hindley St nightclub on Friday morning.

Despite claims by two of the women involved that their drinks were
"spiked," the acting officer-in-charge of Adelaide CIB, Detective Inspector
Madeleine Glynn, said information provided to police indicated those
affected had knowingly imbibed a drug.

But they may not have been aware they were drinking Fantasy, she said.

The officer-in-charge of the Drug Task Force, Superintendent Denis Edmonds,
said the latest incident was "scary stuff" and showed that "no matter how
many warnings we give... people are still stupid enough to take something
that they're unsure of".

The taskforce was working with Adelaide CIB to find the drug's supplier
"and we'll provide them with as much assistance as we can", Superintendent
Edmonds said.

He said South Australian police first became aware of Fantasy (gamma
hydroxy butyrate) in October, 1996, after 10 people overdosed at a Gold
Coast rave party.

Taken in liquid or powder form, it had the potential to induce a coma and
cause heart and respiratory problems, Superintendent Edmonds said.

But it was "difficult to say" where it came from or what users were paying
for the drug.