Pubdate: Sat, 19 Jan 2002 Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Copyright: 2002 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.phillynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339 Author: Kitty Caparella NARCS ON ALERT FOR FAKE OPIUM The substance is reddish, hard, easily shattered or crumbled and forms a slightly sticky, red powder when it's crushed. Users think it's opium. But it's not. It's nearly identical to red opium. In fact, it's called "Red Rock Opium." But the substance contains no opiates. It's incense. "The substance looks like opium, but it's fake," said Mary Vaira, spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration here, who checked with a DEA laboratory that has analyzed red-rock opium. "It's the same texture, it's red and it smells like incense." The fake opium has been sold on the Internet for $3 per ounce. The taste is "reminiscent of flowers, very mildly 'perfumey,' and is not particularly harsh on the throat and lungs," according to one Internet description. The buzz is mild, but some users say they get a "floaty," "codeine- like" relaxed feeling. Drug officials here are on the alert for either real opium or the fake opium. "If we thought we were field-testing opium and came up with a negative repeatedly, we would know something is wrong," said Chief Inspector Raymond Rooney of the Philadelphia Police Narcotics Unit. He said he's seen neither the real nor fake red opium. Drug officials worldwide are on the alert for an increase in opium produced in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The deposed Taliban rulers in Afghanistan, one of the world's biggest opium-producing countries, have sold opium stockpiles and farmers there have now replanted poppy crops. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake