Pubdate: Fri, 21 Apr 2006
Source: Daily Times, The (MD)
Copyright: 2006 The Daily Times
Contact: http://www.delmarvanow.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.thedailytimesonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/116
Author: James Fisher , Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

SUSPECTED HOT DOSES SEND HEROIN USERS TO ER

SALISBURY -- The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is 
conducting tests to see if heroin used by six people who ended up at 
Peninsula Regional Medical Center Thursday was laced with a substance 
even more dangerous than the drug itself.

The tests followed an unusual day for Wicomico health officials 
Thursday, who were notified of the rash of hospital cases that 
afternoon. Dr. Judith Sensenbrenner, director of the county's health 
department, said six people with similar symptoms arrived at the 
hospital between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Thursday, with difficulty 
breathing and unconsiousness.

Heroin use appeared to link their cases, Sensenbrenner said, and 
medical workers suspected that a foreign substance in the drugs they 
used had caused the symptoms. Sensenbrenner said she was advising 
drug users specifically not to use heroin, although the department 
did not issue a formal statement or post new information to its Web 
site by this morning.

"Drug use is bad any time, but it's even more dangerous here because 
people are not expecting the kinds of reactions they're getting," 
Sensenbrenner said. She said the DHMH tests had not yet identified if 
the heroin had been laced with something else.

No deaths among the six cases have been reported.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman