Some Addicts Attracted to Deadly Dose August 18, 2005
News Summary
Public-health officials dutifully put out warnings when a wave of overdose deaths hit New York City, but some heroin users say the publicity only makes them more interested in using a deadly -- but also potentially more powerful -- batch of drugs, the New York Times reported Aug. 18.At least six New York heroin users -- including two young female college students -- died of overdoses during the past week. Officials are trying to determine if a bad batch of heroin or cocaine -- which some of the dead addicts also had taken -- was to blame for the deaths.
Rather than being warned off, however, some addicts reacted to the news with a sense of bravado. If the batch is that deadly, the reasoning goes, it must be good and potent.
"I died four times in one day, and I'm still here," said a heroin addict calling himself L.E.S. Jewels. "People figure if they can handle it, it means the dope is good. It means they have more tolerance for the stuff."
Still, rumors are flying around the local addict community about the brands, or "stamps," associated with the fatal ODs. "There's a lot of concern with people asking what stamps people are dying from and where they're copping," said Travis, 30, another addict. "I was told that one of the bad stamps was XXX -- like the Vin Diesel movie."
Shannon, 24, says addicts can take certain precautions to avoid ODs. "There's ways to be smart about taking chances," she said, including avoiding buying from strangers and starting with a half-dose. "You can always do more, but you can't do less," she noted. Another addict had a simpler solution: let someone else try the drugs first.
Boston University School of Public Health 
COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE: