Pubdate: Tue, 07 May 2002
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Don Harrison

DEATHS, BRAIN DAMAGE TIED TO BAD DRUGS

Two people have died and two more will be mentally damaged for life after 
smoking a bad batch of heroin or cocaine.

The four, all Vancouver males, were struck in the past few months by an 
often-fatal condition called heroin-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy. The 
condition, easily confirmed by a CT scan, is untreatable and causes death 
or permanent brain damage.

"The public should know about this," Dr. John Blatherwick, chief medical 
health officer of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, said yesterday.

The initial symptoms are often difficulty in speaking or walking. Family 
members or friends who notice such behaviour should advise any user to seek 
immediate medical attention, said Blatherwick.

The four recent cases are the first of the condition recorded in B.C., he said.

He appealed to the unknown dealer of the drugs: "You, out there, if you're 
cutting it [adding non-drug filler to the heroin/cocaine] with something 
different than you usually do, you should know you are costing yourself 
customers."

The victims, between the ages of 26 and 38, were not street addicts, but 
what Blatherwick called "community users." They included three ethnic 
Chinese, which led him to speculate that one dealer was perhaps providing 
this tainted supply.

On the other hand, the four cases could be tied to another deadly 
condition, he said.

"Wanting to avoid AIDS [from a infected needle] is probably a reason for 
heroin- and cocaine-smoking increase," he said. "We have seen a drop in 
Vancouver of [intravenous drug-related] AIDS and overdose deaths."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens