POLICE WARN OF SHOCK RISE IN THE USE OF 'SPEED' DRUG

A Shock rise in the use of amphetamines in Mid-Ulster has been
revealed by police in the area.

A number of Drug Squad operations against Ecstasy traffickers in
Belfast has made the so-called party drug more expensive and harder to
obtain and users are now switching to amphetamines which have a
similar effect to Ecstasy.

Constable Martin Allen told a meeting of Cookstown District Policing
Partnership that local seizures of amphetamines, known as Speed, are
on the increase and blamed it on the diminished supply of Ecstasy.

He warned that Speed often contained quantities of a veterinary drug
used to put animals to sleep and said people were using the drug to
give themselves false energy.

"Speed seizures are well up on last year and people are using the drug
more than they have been, as we have a decreased supply of Ecstasy. It
is a bit like going into a supermarket - if people cannot find what
they are looking for they go for the closest alternative," he said.

"There have been a number of large seizures of Ecstasy in Belfast over
the last couple of years and we believe that because of that it has
become more scarce and therefore dearer and people have turned to
amphetamines instead.

"Some of the speed uses tranquillisers which are used to put animals
to sleep so you can imagine that it would not be very good for you. It
gives boundless energy and some people are using these drugs to
encourage themselves to go further."

Ecstasy was developed during the First World War as a stimulant for
weary troops and amphetamines provide a similar effect.

The effects of Speed lasts for a shorter period of time but is more
intense than Ecstasy in many cases.

"With thousands of young people coming into the town at weekends
Ecstasy has also been seized in considerable numbers," Const Allen
added.

While the level of drug use is not the same in Cookstown as in other
parts of the province like Antrim and Ballymena it is causing concern
among local representatives.

There has been a significant increase in the overall number of drug
seizures in Cookstown DCU. During the last financial year, police
launched 76 successful operations.