DESIGNER DRUGS TOLL TREBLES

THE number of deaths in WA from designer drugs more than trebled between
1999 and 2001, new figures revealed yesterday.

WA's Drug and Alcohol Agency reported that there were five deaths from the
drugs, which include amphetamines, methylamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine,
in 1999, 15 deaths in 2000 and 17 deaths in 2001.

The number of deaths from those drugs is about level with the number of
deaths from heroin.

In 2001, 15 deaths were linked to heroin use, down from 76 in the previous
year.

The number of heroin deaths dropped dramatically because of a severe
shortage of the drug in recent years.

Drug and Alcohol Office acting executive director Steve Allsop said
designer drugs, officially called amphetamine-like substances, had become
more potent in the past decade.

Of the 37 people who died after taking the drugs between 1999 and 2001, 35
per cent were women and most of them had taken a cocktail of drugs rather
than just one substance.

Ecstasy was the main cause of five of the deaths in those three years.

Professor Allsop said that in a significant number of the cases, the
victims had an underlying health problem, such as a heart condition, that
was triggered by the drug use.

For example, a 20-year-old woman who died after taking amphetamines had a
stroke. A coronial inquest found she had had high blood pressure.

Another death was caused by the persons choking on their own vomit after
taking an emphetamine-like substance and drinking alcohol.

The number of deaths caused by alcohol in WA in 1999, 2000 and 2001 were
311, 292 and 269.

"These (designer) drugs carry a risk for everyone," Professor Allsop said.

"However, if people have a vulnerability, such as a heart condition, the
risk is substantially increased."

National Drug Research Institute senior research fellow Simon Lenton, who
is involved in studies that track 100 ecstasy users and 100 injecting drug
users, revealed ecstasy was "very easy" to buy and methylamphetamine - a
crystallised form of amphetamines that has overtaken powdered speed as the
drug of choice - was also easy to get.

Dr Lenton said amphetamines cost about $300 a gram, methylamphetamine cost
about $350 a gram and ecstasy tablets cost about $40 each.

Users preferred methylampehtamine, known as ice or rock, to powdered speed
because it was taken up by the body more readily and appeared to be stronger.

Dr Lenton said the research indicated a growing number of deaths from
ecstasy because its use was more widespread and no longer confined to the
underground rave scene. He said that in the earlier rave scene users were
much more informed about the risks and looked after each other.

However, that did not appear to be happening now as ecstasy was readily
used by those going to pubs and clubs.

Dr Lenton said drug reseachers were expecting to see more health problems
caused by the growing use of methylamphetamine because of its potency.