Pubdate: Sun, 05 Oct 1997
Source: The Sunday Times (UK) 
Contact: Youths inject vodka for an instant high 
by Stephen McGinty 

TEENAGERS in rural communities are injecting vodka and whisky to achieve a
quick high as the drug culture spreads to market towns and villages. 

In their desire to get drunk instantly, children as young as 14 are
injecting spirits and even lager and cider directly into the bloodstream.
The potentially fatal technique makes alcohol seven times more powerful
than when consumed as a drink and carries a high risk of causing strokes. 

The trend, in which youngsters are exploiting the availability of alcohol ­
easier than access to illegal drugs ­ has been revealed by members of the
Home Office police research group. 

Medical experts say that injecting alcohol can introduce air bubbles into
the body, blocking the blood flow to the brain and inducing a stroke. It is
also easy to miscalculate the amount of alcohol injected and administer a
lethal dose. 

When alcohol enters the bloodstream directly the effect is immediate and
uncontrollable. Experts say that only 10ml of whisky, less than half a
measure, would put somebody over the drinkdrive limit if injected. 

Dr John Connolly, of the department of physiology and pharmacology at
Strathclyde University, said: "If a large amount of whisky is injected
there is a danger the brain might experience lethal concentrations of
alcohol. It's madness even to think about injecting alcohol." 

The dangers did not deter Robert Brooksby of Driffield, a rural Yorkshire
town where the Home Office study was carried out. He first injected
Smirnoff vodka at the age of 18. "It feels like your head is burning with
drink," he said. "If you pin [inject] yourself it burns through your veins
and you can taste it in the back of your throat. Your whole body becomes
woozy." 

Other cases found by The Sunday Times include: 

Phil, 23, a south London accountant, who injected whisky with a friend
after a night's heavy drinking. He almost instantly blacked out and woke up
hours later to discover his friend had died from alcohol poisoning; 

Lindsay, 18, a history student from Newcastle upon Tyne, injected Jack
Daniels bourbon at a party in the house of a friend whose parents were out
for the night. She did it to win a drinking competition. "I wanted to show
I was madder than anyone else. I didn't really feel drunk, just very ill.
Then I think I fainted." 

Frank, 29, a City trader from London, injected 12yearold Glenfiddich malt
whisky after taking cocaine and drinking heavily to celebrate a large
bonus. He collapsed and awoke to find the needle still sticking out of his
arm. 

Although drug experts say the number of people injecting alcohol remains
small, they fear an increase. Coral Burrows, a youth worker with East
Riding county council, who helped to compile the report, said: "They are
doing it sometimes out of boredom and experimentation and at other times
out of desperation." 

The researchers, who chose Driffield as a representative rural town, found
drug abuse in general is increasing in such communities, as it has in
Britain's cities. In the past 10 years seizures of drugs in Humberside,
which includes Driffield, have risen fivefold, while the number of drug
offenders has increased fourfold. 

The most popular drug of choice was found to be cannabis, but drugs such as
LSD, ecstasy and heroin were all easy to find in even the most isolated
communities as dealers organised local drug drops. In an effort to get a
kick, teenagers also ground up antihistamine tablets and smoked them.