HEROIN PURITY WARNING AS OVERDOSE CASES SOAR

A higher grade of heroin on Sydney's streets has been blamed for a jump in
the number of drug overdoses this week, according to ambulance and police
officers.

The Ambulance Service is called to an average of about 13 drug overdoses a
day in Sydney but on Tuesday officers attended 18 cases, another 29 on
Wednesday and 36 overdoses on Thursday, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman, Ms
Nerida Jose, said yesterday.

These figures compared with a total of 40 cases for the same three days
last year.

More than half of this week's overdoses are believed to have been from heroin.

Nine of the cases on Thursday were overdoses at Kings Cross, while six were
at Cabramatta.

"Sometimes the quality and strength of "street drugs' vary and can be very
dangerous," Ms Jose said.

"The ingredients the drugs are cut or mixed with can also cause fatal
complications.

"Some may experience inadvertent overdosage resulting in unconsciousness,
breathing difficulties, asphyxia and death."

The information officer at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre,
Mr Paul Dillon, said purity alone would not necessarily explain the rise in
overdoses seen this week.

"Undoubtedly, purity is a major issue in overdoses; however, it would be
wrong to over-emphasise it to users when other factors such as poly-drug
use or mixing your drugs are equally important," he said.

"To keep reminding users that the heroin on the streets is pure doesn't
actually discourage them from using it at all."

Police said heroin sold in Cabramatta was usually of a higher grade and
cost between $20 and $25 a hit, cheaper than heroin sold on the streets in
Kings Cross, where the drug was usually cut with some other substance.

Police believe many of the overdoses in Kings Cross were people who had
travelled to Cabramatta to buy heroin.

"They get on the train and have a hit, by the time they get to the Cross
some of them have overdoses, that's what we usually see here," a Kings
Cross police officer said.

Ms Jose warned all drug users not to "use" alone and to avoid taking the
drug in a hidden place, so help could be called if an overdose occurred.