Yahoo News No link between dangerous heroin batches in Bristol and Devon
There is no evidence to suggest a link between two 'dangerous' batches of heroin found in both Bristol and North Devon, a drugs charity has said. The Bristol Drugs Project warned that powerful and potentially deadly synthetic opioids, known as nitazenes, were found in samples of heroin tested in the last Saturday (April 27).
During the same weekend, two people tragically died in North Devon, believed to have taken a 'bad batch' of heroin, according to local police officers. Devon and Cornwall Police declared a major incident and 10 people were taken to hospital between Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27. However, the Bristol Drugs Project has said there is currently no evidence linking the two incidents.
Samples were taken from a number of different sources in Bristol by drugs charity The Loop, which believes that some doses may have proved fatal. According to The Loop, nitazenes have a higher risk of causing overdose when taken and do not have the 'euphoric affect' associated with heroin. Bristol City Council said samples of the drugs had been sent to the University of Bath for testing.
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A spokesperson for the Bristol Drugs Project told BristolLive the charity has been "doing everything we can" to spread the message about the potentially deadly opioids in Bristol since the samples were tested last weekend. Staff members have also been working hard to communicate the dangers with people who may not have access to social media or the news.
"We are lucky in Bristol that we have a robust system of spreading awareness of topics across organisations that might work with people who use drugs," the spokesperson added.
The charity supports people who use drugs across Bristol, including patients at 42 GP practices. A spokesperson said: "We have been spreading the word through all our interactions with our service users, attaching flyers to the opioid substitution therapy prescriptions we issue and through our network of other organisations that support people who use drugs throughout the city.
"The best advice to stay safer if you choose to use heroin is to start with a small amount first, try not to use it on your own and make sure to have naloxone with you. Naloxone is an overdose reversal drug and is available for free from us."
They added the charity is not aware of a link between the tragic incidents in Devon and the samples found in Bristol.
"At this moment, we are not aware of a link between the finding of nitazenes in Bristol and the tragic deaths in North Devon," they said. "Naturally, we will be keeping up with any new information and have been working closely with Avon & Somerset Police to stay abreast of any developments."
The Loop charity said in a Facebook post on Saturday: "Nitazenes, dangerous synthetic opioids, have been tested in Bristol in multiple samples of heroin from different sources. Please share this urgent drug alert to people who use drugs, organisations and services locally and nationwide. Heroin tested today contains potentially fatal doses of nitazenes."
The Bristol Drugs Project also urged drugs-users to get in touch about advice on naloxone, a drug used to counter the affects of a heroin or other opioid overdose. The organisation said: "If you’re Bristol based, get in touch with us for naloxone, OST (opioid substitution treatment) or advice around your drug use."
