Northamptonshire health teams issue contaminated drugs warning
The councils warned that by buying illegal drugs, users "can't be sure what is in them or the effect they will have".
Ms Bethea said: "Festivals are a particular setting of concern given there can be a number of street drugs circulating at these events, and those that take them may be inexperienced or experimenting for the first time, and so have low tolerance."She said there were particular issues with potent synthetic opioids, such as nitazenes, being mis-sold, and high availability of contaminated ketamine.Chloe Gay, director of public health at West Northamptonshire Council, said: "Your drugs may look the same, even if they are contaminated, so I urge all recreational drug users to stop and think, and if they go ahead then to abide by the advice."The councils are working with charities such as Change Grow Live and Ngage on the warning.Emma White, from Ngage, said: "We have young people who are ending up in A&E because of contaminated substances."It is really shocking actually how many of our young people it is affecting."
'He started seizing on the floor'
Deano is a former drug user who now works with Ngage.The 18-year-old from Northamptonshire, who did not want to give his surname, said he started taking drugs to help him sleep.He told BBC Radio Northampton's Annabel Amos: "I am a massive insomniac, always have been."Also, I've got ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], so they bounce off each other."So that's what I initially started using substances for."He said when buying drugs "there's always going to be a risk" they could be contaminated.Deano said when he was 16, he was with a friend, who was about his age and took what he thought was ketamine, but the substance also contained amphetamine and fentanyl - a powerful opioid.He said: "He was bugging around for a bit, getting all excited because of the amphetamines and then what I assume happened is the fentanyl took over after that."He started seizing on the floor, foaming [at the mouth] and he got taken away by ambulance."It's still a shock because you don't know what they've taken."His friend later recovered and now Deano is working towards rebuilding his life and has applied to college.
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