KILLER DRUG SPOOKS DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE

VANCOUVER -- Written warnings are plastered on store windows advising
people how to stay safe. As is the case with many epidemics, fear is on
people's faces as the number of dead rises.

The epicentre of the outbreak is Vancouver's drug-ravaged Downtown
Eastside, and the fear stems from the realization that little can be done
to save the dying.

Ten people have died in the past two weeks in one of the worst outbreaks of
narcotic-related deaths to hit this troubled neighbourhood in years.

At first, police suspected a batch of potent heroin was to blame, but
sources say toxicology reports on the victims reveal it was actually heroin
cut with powdered methadone, a synthetic drug four times as potent as heroin.

Police are pleading with addicts to use the city's supervised injection
site, which is staffed with medical personnel. Social service agencies have
papered the neighbourhood with signs providing other life-saving tips, such
as never shoot up alone, and buy your drugs from someone that you know.

Still, police and social service agencies know they can issue precautions
every hour of the day, and people here will still use hard drugs.

"To think for a second that they will abstain is naive," Vancouver Police
spokesman Howard Chow said. "The least we can do is persuade them to change
their habits."

The addicts themselves are aware they are sitting ducks.

Methadone overdoses are survivable if help is sought immediately, but in
this neighbourhood, which is home to nearly 5,000 intravenous drug users,
safety always comes second to scoring.

"People are greedy," said a man who gave his name as John as he stood
guarding his shopping cart on the corner of Main and Hastings Streets on
Wednesday afternoon.

Asked if drug users are seeking protection at the city's supervised
injection site, John snorted. "The safe injection site?" he laughed. "They
call that alley there the safe injection site," he added, pointing to a
nearby laneway crammed with people. "People want to use as soon as they score."

It was "Welfare Wednesday" or "Mardi Gras," as it's dubbed in the Downtown
Eastside, the day provincial social assistance cheques are issued and a
festive mood was in the air as drugs were bought and sold in the open.

Nearly every user interviewed was aware of the lethal batch that is killing
addicts.

Two men in a decrepit alley behind Hastings Street said they're trying to
be careful, but there's no way of telling beforehand if a drug is "bad."

Both had recently experienced near fatal overdoses even though they are
long-time heroin users with enough experience to know how much their bodies
can absorb.

Kevin Thompson, 35, said he barely had the needle into his arm when he knew
something was wrong. "I turned to the girl sitting beside me and said:
'Call the nurse.' Next thing, I woke up and the rig is still in my arm."

As Mr. Thompson related his story, his companion, Jacob nodded in sympathy.
He too suffered an inexplicable overdose about three weeks ago. Neither had
overdosed for years.

Jacob, who wouldn't give his last name, said he was with three people in an
alley. He purchased a small, $5 portion of heroin. As soon as he injected
the drug, Jacob knew something was wrong. His legs wobbled, and there was a
spicy taste in his mouth.

"I started running," Jacob said. "I knew I had to get out of this alley to
live."

He sprinted to a phone booth and collapsed. He awoke in hospital and was
told he nearly died.

This is not the first time a bad batch of drugs has cut a deadly swath
through the vulnerable neighbourhood. In 1998, nearly one person a day died
of an overdose over a six-month period. In that scourge, police said Asian
gangs flooded the Vancouver market with a highly potent brand of heroin.

Back in 1993, 356 people died of overdoses.

Police say the deaths might be linked to the recent theft of a large
quantity of methadone from a Downtown Eastside pharmacy. Methadone is
prescribed in small amounts to treat heroin addiction. Constable Chow said
much of the stolen drug has been recovered.

The dead include seven men and three women who range in age from 29 to 49,
police said.

The overdose deaths have prompted some observers to call for more treatment
options for hardcore addicts.

Elaine Allan, who once worked at a drop-in centre for prostitutes on
Hastings Street, said an addict's chaotic lifestyle makes him or her
vulnerable to a range of dangers -- from predators to unscrupulous drug
dealers.

Millions of tax dollars went into funding the supervised injection site,
she argued, but there has been no increase in the number of treatment and
recovery centres for addicts.

"What we need are fewer people on the street who are vulnerable to this
kind of tragedy," Ms. Allan said. "They have a safe place to fix but no
place to detox."