Pubdate: Mon, 21 Dec 1998
Source: Courier-Mail, The (Australia)
Section: Page 3
Contact:  http://www.thecouriermail.com.au/
Copyright: News Limited 1998
Author: Ali Lawlor and Charles Miranda

COCKTAIL OF LETHAL DRUGS ON MARKET

DANGEROUS new strains of the designer drug Ecstasy are being sold in
Queensland with some dealers mixing an anaesthetic into the pill.

A potentially fatal drug called Flatliner, which is 33 times stronger
than Ecstasy, also has been seized in Adelaide and is believed to be
available in Sydney.

Flatliner, or 4-MTA, has killed four people in the UK and one in the
Netherlands and put a number of others in hospital.

Queensland Intravenous AIDS Association spokesman Alex Wightman said
although he hadn't heard of Flatliner being used in Queensland, a
dangerous new strain mixed with the anaesthetic ketamine was being
pushed on the Gold Coast and Brisbane markets.

"Mixing with the anaesthetic can quite easily cause respiratory
depression," Mr Wightman said.

"With these tablets you're much less likely to make voluntarily
actions, you temporarily freeze up and the danger of these sorts of
drugs is that there's a very fine line between taking enough to get
you high and taking enough for you to go into respiratory
depression."

Brisbane paramedic Ron Henderson said he wasn't surprised that
anaesthetic was being mixed with Ecstasy and said different strains
were turning up weekly.

"It's an unlucky dip with Ecstasy, they're getting these recipes off
the Internet and they're adding their own little bits and pieces so
none of us know what we're doing." Mr Henderson said.

"So when we turn up to these people it's an unknown for us and that's
the battle we don't know what they're taking and they don't know what's
in them."

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre spokesman Paul Dillon said
the Flatliner find in Adelaide was of major concern.

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Checked-by: Rich O'Grady