Cocaine deaths spark warnings of killer cocktail

[Lunar Loops]

The Kate Moss factor???? Oh gawd yeah, let's all have a tabloid toiletary experience. Gimme some o that eh hen.

This from the Scotsman.com (http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1087962006) :
Cocaine deaths spark warnings of killer cocktail

MICHAEL HOWIE

POLICE issued an urgent drugs warning yesterday following the deaths of five cocaine users in Edinburgh in less than two months.
Tests are being carried out to discover whether there are any further links between the five men who died after taking the class A drug.
Police are not ruling out the possibility that deadly high-purity cocaine may be circulating in the city, while drug experts suspect the hot weather may be compounding the dangers of cocaine use.
Only one cocaine-related death was recorded in Scotland's capital in 2004, although the number of overdoses linked to the drug has soared across the country. Three people died after taking the drug in 1996, but by 2004 the number had climbed to 38.
The five latest deaths have all occurred since the beginning of June at different locations across the city and police do not believe the men were known to each other.
It is understood the victims - all aged between 20 and 30 - had taken a cocktail of drugs or alcohol along with the cocaine.
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: " Cocaine is an inherently dangerous drug and users must be aware its effects are less predictable when mixed with other drugs, including alcohol."
But he added: "We cannot rule out the possibility that abnormally high- purity cocaine may be involved."
John Arthur, manager of the drug support and advice group Crew 2000, said that, in light of the spate of deaths, advisers would be touring city pubs and clubs this weekend warning users to watch more carefully the amount of drugs they were taking.
"Cocaine raises the body temperature and so if enough of it is taken, particularly if combined with other substances such as alcohol, then, in this weather, that can be a real danger.
"Dehydration and overheating can be a real problem. We are urging users to cut down on their use of cocaine, particularly in this hot weather which can tend to encourage people to drink more alcohol than they would normally."
Tom Wood, chairman of the body Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh, described the sudden spate of cocaine-related deaths as "highly abnormal".
He said: "This tragically reinforces what we have been saying all along - that the prevalence of cocaine use is increasing. People see it as being a clean, recreational drug. It doesn't have a dirty, dangerous reputation, like heroin.
"Cocaine has a caché about it - it has the Kate Moss factor. You are as likely to see it in an upmarket West End wine bar as in a scheme pub.
"But if anything positive can come out of these terrible, sad deaths, it is the message that cocaine, as we have long been saying, is a deadly drug."
About 45,000 Scottish adults say they have taken cocaine in the past year and its rate of uptake has grown so much that drug experts say it could overtake heroin abuse.
Last year, the charity Drugscope warned the price of cocaine in Glasgow had fallen from £xx per gramme to £xx in only 12 months. (a fall of 20% for those interested in relative figures).