Posted on 04/25/2006 8:30:31 PM PDT by TFFKAMM
After Ellen Krips' cousin died of an overdose of extremely potent drugs last week, the heroin addict's first thought was not how she could avoid the bad junk. It was more like: I have to get some of that stuff.
A bad batch of drugs for sale on the streets of Philadelphia and southern New Jersey has killed at least nine heroin users over the past two weeks. And while authorities are warning people to stay away from the stuff, they are afraid some junkies are drawing the wrong lesson.
Like Krips, 32, they are intrigued by the possibility of a powerful new high.
Investigators are trying to determine exactly what is in the stuff, which is being sold as heroin under such names as "Flatline" and "Capone." Since Friday, about 70 people have been hospitalized.
Tests done in one community show that what was sold as heroin was mostly fentanyl, a drug 80 times more powerful than morphine. It is used to treat chronic pain and as anesthesia for open-heart surgery. No heroin was in the batch.
Medical experts say fentanyl, which has been harming Chicago-area addicts for a few months and has shown up mixed with heroin in Cleveland and elsewhere this year, can cause breathing problems and make users feel as if they are suffocating.
William Gamble, 40, said he was sickened last week. Hours after a state trooper warned him that "Flatline" was dangerous, Gamble bought three, $10 doses of "Capone." He, his wife and another man shot up in an abandoned house. The men passed out quickly, but both survived and were not hospitalized. His wife was not affected...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Oh, boo-hoo!
(sorry, too much House, I guess)
'a powerful new high'
"You stick needles in your arms to fill your body full of poisons and you want me feel sorry for your when the poisons become poisonous?"
House might say that too.....I have to love the guy
Idiots just out chasing the dragon.
the most powerful high in this city is to walk from the piers, across Chrissy Field, over the bridge and back. Then go back to the pier market place near the Oakland Bridge, sit outside with a gin and tonic or two and a few wonderful appetizers holding hands with your sweet husband!! No drugs could top this!!!
sounds good,you go Texas girl ;)
As I'm fond of saying...stupidity is its own punishment.
Why doesn't this guy get a useful hobby--like feeding squirrels or something.
That reminds me of an old joke, a riddle actually. Your best friend calls and tells you he has some really good dope, come over and take some. Upon arriving you find him dead with a needle still in his arm and a bag of dope on the floor next to him. How much do you inject in the first shot?
Thank God they have insurance!
Anyone else see a potential solution to the drug problem here?
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