Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 Source: Times, The (UK) Copyright: 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd Contact: http://www.the-times.co.uk/ Author: Stewart Tendler, crime correspondent DANGER DRUGS ALERT FOR NEW YEAR CLUBBERS Britain's anti-drugs co-ordinator gave a warning yesterday that youngsters seeking chemical kicks on New Year's Eve risk exposing themselves to adulterated drugs believed to be flooding the market because of unprecedented demand. Police are worried that extra supplies of drugs have been stockpiled for the millennium trade and some are dangerously adulterated. A warning about adulterated Ecstasy has already appeared on the Internet in the past month. Yesterday Keith Hellawell urged youngsters to think before taking a risk. Mr Hellawell said: "Just a moment of deceived euphoria can cause a lifetime of devastation." He said it was important to get the dangers of drug use across to young people. He asked why many young people seemed to "virtually dance with death", adding: "Why do they take these substances in recreational circumstances that they know have the potential to damage and kill them?" He was speaking as Strathclyde Police waited for forensic tests on 15-year-old Kerry-Ann Kirk, who was found dead on Boxing Day and is believed to have taken a heroin substitute. Miss Kirk is thought to have been given methadone, a powerful synthetic opiate normally prescribed to addicts. She had never apparently been known to be involved with drugs and was at a party at her 16-year-old boyfriend's home. She was found dead on a bed at the house the next day. There were reports yesterday that the partygoers found a bottle of methadone and tried the drug. Methadone is often stronger than street heroin and has caused deaths among a number of addicts. The Strathclyde region, which has a major heroin problem, has seen 146 drug-related deaths this year. Scotland's First Minister spoke out against the "false glamour" of drugs. Speaking on Scot FM radio, Donald Dewar said of Miss Kirk's death: "It's very, very sad and worrying, but it's as worrying as the 145 that went before. It's a tragedy for the individual, for the family and, of course, for the community. "But the sad, sad thing is that, despite the best efforts in the fields of education, social work and the medical field and crime prevention field, we just have not yet been able to roll back this scourge. We've got to continue unremitting efforts." Mr Dewar was asked if the war against drugs was being lost. He said: "I think there's a false glamour still about drugs. I don't think the younger generation have really appreciated the damage and the risks that they run." Mr Hellawell's comments follow a warning last month on the Internet from the United States that some tablets appearing in Britain as Ecstasy contained a chemical called DXM, which could be dangerous if taken like the dance drug. The pills, known as Green Triangles because of their appearance, have been sold in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Oakland, and contain dextromethorphan. The chemical is usually found in cough medicines and will cause increased body temperature and inhibits sweating. DXM is usually taken recreationally at home. Its effects could be very dangerous in a club, and the warning from an Ecstasy information site urges caution. If Ecstasy is added or included in the pills with DXM the user could have liver problems. Just before Christmas the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) also warned against adulterated drugs and a sharp rise in seiz-ures of cargoes of synthetic drugs, mainly from Europe. Nick Wilson, head of the NCIS drugs unit, said he was concerned that the combination of the millennium and extra drug supplies would tempt partygoers to experiment. He said: "People who buy illegal drugs have no way of knowing the true content of what they are buying. They risk some appalling side effects - even death - a criminal record and further enhancing the evil spread of organised crime." NCIS has noted that 1,951lb of Ecstasy have been found in the first 11 months of this year, against 550lb for the whole of 1998. More than a third has been found since October. Police have also found evidence that gangs are setting up their own laboratories in Britain and importing the raw materials from China and Eastern Europe. Yesterday Scotland Yard gave a warning that extra officers on duty for the millennium celebrations would be watching for drug dealing. The Yard said there would be no relaxation in enforcing the law for dealers or users, and a tourist policing guide issued by the Yard for the millennium also spells out that drug possession is illegal in Britain. - --- MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst