Pubdate: Wed, 21 Feb 2001
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd
Contact:  250 Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia
Website: http://www.theage.com.au/
Forum: http://forums.f2.com.au/login/login.asp?board=TheAge-Talkback 
Author: David Adams

MIXTURE LED TO DEATH, COURT TOLD

A mouthwash swallowed by a 21-year-old St Albans woman hours before 
her death contained 10 times as much cocaine as mouthwashes used to 
treat cancer patients, Geelong Coroner's Court was told yesterday.

Giving evidence at an inquest into the death of Jacqueline Mary Kelly 
in Lorne last May, David Thirlwall said that cocaine was generally 
used in mouthwashes in concentrations up to 1 per cent for severely 
ill patients. He said he was surprised the mouthwash Ms Kelly took 
contained 10 per cent cocaine.

Mr Thirlwall, a senior pharmacist with the Pharmacy Board of 
Victoria, said that while solutions with up to 10 per cent cocaine 
were used at the Royal Melbourne and Freemasons hospitals in nasal 
packs, the hospitals used mouthwashes with 1 per cent cocaine to 
treat only severely ill cancer patients.

He said the Peter MacCallum Institute used mouthwashes with 0.5 per 
cent cocaine to treat patients after radiotherapy. It was rarely used 
in general practice, he said.

Ms Kelly died on May 13 last year after suffering a series of fits 
while taking a spa at a party for her sister's 25th birthday in 
Lorne's Cumberland Resort.

In previous evidence, Ms Kelly's sister Natalie said a friend, 
Michelle Slowik, had told her that Ms Kelly had taken a quarter of a 
spoonful of mouthwash containing cocaine out of a 100millilitre 
bottle.

But Ms Slowik, who had been prescribed the mouthwash for pain relief 
after a tonsillectomy, said yesterday that after she had taken the 
mouthwash at the party, Ms Kelly had swallowed what remained on the 
spoon.

Forensic pathologist Matthew Lynch said yesterday that Ms Kelly had 
died from combined drug toxicity involving cocaine and alcohol.

Ron Gibb, representing the Kelly family, suggested that the amount of 
cocaine in the $3.30 solution prescribed to Ms Slowik could have a 
street value of $1000.

The inquest was adjourned to March 21.
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