THE risk of fatal overdoses from heroin in the Isle of Man could increase after one of the most severe droughts of the drug in the UK in the last five years it was revealed in December.
The Isle of Man Constabulary's Drug Trafficking Unit warned that the heroin currently being sold in the Island may be of poor quality.
Because of the shortage of the opiate, caused by a fungus destroying this year's poppy crop in Afghanistan, drug dealers are mixing small amounts of heroin with other substances including sedatives and caffeine.
Detective Sergeant Allan Thompson of the Drug Trafficking Unit said: "Our figures show a major reduction in the seizure of heroin this year.
"Without local seizures to analyse I am unable to comment on the quality of the heroin used on the Island but, looking at the UK picture, it's clear that what was being sold as heroin was mixed with a high percentage of bulking agents such as powerful sedatives and talcum powder.
"What does concern me is that prices will rise when the drought ends, tolerance will be reduced, and the risk of fatal overdoses will increase."
Some users have become unconscious after injecting or smoking the drug and others have reported vomiting, flu-like symptoms, and amnesia.
Shelly Stanley, director of the Drug Advice Service and Helpline (DASH), said: "This is an unregulated product and is subject to no controls whatsoever - users will never know what they are buying.
"As we saw earlier this year there was a widespread infection from Anthrax across the UK from a contaminated batch or batches which killed a number of people - the risks are very real.
"In times of drought the way to maintain profit is to mix it with other substances sometimes inert and sometimes quite dangerous. Dealers do not intentionally set out to kill off their customers, it is not in their interest, but by mixing potentially dangerous sedatives with a strong sedative such as heroin then the risks are high and as DS Thompson mentioned, once a purer product turns up, the chances of an overdose are very high."
