Jackie’s story: There’s fentanyl in this heroin!

So what happens when you find yourself dealing super strong gear?

My business partner Jill and I were being dicked around by the guy we bought our ounces from. After a couple of tricky purchases, we started looking around. We asked a mate, Phil, who was also dealing, if we could buy off his contact. He said that would be okay, but he would broker the first deal till he could sort out an introduction. That was fine by us — we just needed some product.

When the time came, Phil told us to meet him on a certain road, at 11.30. We got there on time, but there was no sign of him. We rang him and he told us he had run out of petrol — he was a suburb away. By the time we got there, it was getting past midnight, and it was just as well the roads were pretty empty, as there was Phil’s car, parked not on the side of the road but in a lane — and Phil was slumped over the steering wheel.

We bashed on the window and finally got through to him. Phil was completely smashed. He was a dealer of several years and I knew him as a super careful guy. I had never seen him put himself on show like he had that night. We got the car to the side of the road, then did the deal. Phil warned us that the gear was super strong. “Just have half of what you normally would — or less. Never, ever use this stuff alone. Be really fucking careful,” he said.

When we got home, we were a bit nervous about trying it — especially as we had already had a few shots that day, most recently just before we went and scored. I mean, you don’t want to do that sort of thing when you’re tense! But we needed to try it so we knew what we were selling. We took Phil’s advice and just had a little. But it totally wiped us. When I mixed it up, it did look a little purple — but I convinced myself that it was a sort of beige. I mean there are all sorts of heroin that mix up all sorts of ways. I know now that if it turns purplish, it’s a sign the gear has been cut with fentanyl — but I didn’t know that’s what we had until after we had sold out.

We tried to package up the gear, but we were so out of it we were spilling it and mis-weighing it. We had to make a decision to stop and start again the next morning or we would have lost all our profits. Jill and I had a good talk about how we were going to deal it. Would we cut it? Or just warn people and let it sit with them? We talked about the customers who would listen when we told them to only use half the amount and to have someone else there — and those who would use it all and/or use alone, no matter what we said. We also discussed what might happen if someone took too much. From both a personal/emotional or legal point of view, it could only end in disaster for everyone.

We decided not to cut it. But we would make sure to give the warning about it being super strong, and the advice to use half and not use alone, every time we sold it — even to repeat customers. We would say it in a “this is serious, listen to me when I say this” kind of way. We knew some people would think we were saying that stuff to spruik our business. Our customers needed to know that our motivation was serious — that we were giving accurate info about the gear to prevent overdoses. I have to say, if your dealer tells you the gear is strong, listen to them. We also made a radical decision for those who we knew would not hear a warning — because they would be too busy punching the air in glee in their head. We decided that when they asked for a hundred, we would give them a fifty. Then next day, we would say we made a mistake and give them the other fifty — by then they would have learned.

Some people can’t learn by being told; they have to experience things. We just couldn’t take the risk they would ignore us and overdose. Some people reading this might think our actions outrageous, but we seriously just couldn’t bear having deaths on our hands, and having a long dealing relationship with these people, it seemed to us like that is what would happen. Once everyone got used to it, this new gear was great and sold well — although there were lots of stories of people nodding off when they shouldn’t. Over a trolley while shopping. Just walking along the street. While gardening. It’s worth remembering that if you nod off and stay in the same place for a while, it can compress your nerves and hinder the blood flow. Your limbs can ‘fall asleep’ and if you are there too long, you can end up with permanent nerve damage.

I know three people who came to the attention of the police because they nodded off at the wheel while parked or at a traffic light. Phil was lucky he didn’t end up in jail that night we met up with him. They are all lucky they didn’t nod off while they were driving and end up in serious accidents. I have to say, if you get any of this gear, try and find a ‘designated driver’ or take the train — there is more than one way to die on gear. I personally missed the ‘purple gear’ once it was gone. It had a big initial hit and it was a wild ride — more bang than heroin but longer legs than fentanyl alone. But it came with a big risk, too.

We’re lucky no-one died from our gear, probably because we warned people. If you had a dealer who didn’t warn you and you didn’t know what you were getting — or if you ignored good advice when it came your way — it could end in tragedy.

Watch out!

Watch out for fentanyl and/or acetylfentanyl in heroin, cocaine and ketamine…

Following several recent cases of serious harm in NSW, NSW Health has warned that the strong opioids fentanyl and acetylfentanyl have been identified in powder form in heroin, cocaine and ketamine. This practice has also been occurring in the US. Recently a California man was sentenced to 15 years for selling fentanyl that led to an overdose death. His customers thought they were getting cocaine.

People taking these cut drugs unknowingly have developed serious poisoning and overdose symptoms. Acetylfentanyl and fentanyl can have life-threatening effects, especially when taken by mistake and/or by people without a tolerance to opioids.

NUAA has test strips available so you can see if there is unwanted fentanyl in your drugs and has developed a brochure showing how to use the strips. Call us on 02 8354 7300 to get a testing kit sent to you or order online at our NSP shop: www.nuaa.org. au/nsp-equipment-1

Be prepared to save a life!

Naloxone (brand names include Narcan, Nyxoid and Prenoxad) reverses opioid overdose. Everyone who uses opioids or loves someone who uses opioids should have naloxone in their house, car or backpack.

As part of a Commonwealth government trial, you can get naloxone for free at many pharmacists in NSW. If you have trouble finding some, call NUAA’s PeerLine on our free number 1800 644 413 — we can find a chemist near you that stocks it. You can also get it home delivered for free if you live in NSW by ordering it from our NSP Shop on the NUAA website.

Some people may have had negative experience s with naloxone before, but remember to stay calm, follow the training you have been given, and everything will go ok — including no precipitated withdrawal occurrences. Please note that naloxone’s opioidreversing effect will wear off (around 30 to 90 minutes) so STAY WITH THEM! They may need more naloxone. All packs of naloxone contain more than one dose. ALSO, using more opioids in this time will only heighten the risk of another overdose event for that person.

Take care to stay with other people and don’t have another shot until the naloxone has worn off and you’ve assessed the situation properly.

How To Respond To An Overdose

If your friend or family member is overdosing:

• Call an Ambulance

• Put them in the recovery position

• Administer naloxone if they’ve had opioids

• Stay with them until you’re sure they’re safe