Ten famous victims of herom
I Sid Vicious (1957-79) Born John Ritchie. the Sex Pistols bass- player was awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen when he took his fatal overdose.
IJohn Belushi (1949-82) The hell- raising star of Animal House and The Blues Brothers was found dead in a hotel room on Sunset Boulevard. having consumed a speedball — a cocktail of heroin and cocaine. IJanis Joplin (1943-70) The blues singer had been clean for a while when she succumbed to a mixture of almost-pure heroin and alcohol. ‘Mercedes Benz' was the last song she recorded. She never got to rake in the royalties.
I Lenny Bruce (1925-66) Lenny Bruce was perhaps the most daring comedian ever. banned in several cities. He was found dead with his trousers round his ankles. surrounded by drug paraphernalia. IDee Dee Ramone (1952-2002) Born Douglas Colvin, Dee Dee was a founder member of The Ramones. playing bass and writing many of their songs. He had struggled with heroin addiction since his teenage years. IJean-Michel Basquiat (1960- 88) The New York graffiti artist who became a friend of Andy Warhol. Basquiat was at the height of his fame when he overdosed in his studio.
I River Phoenix (1970-93) A promising career as a film actor was cut short when Phoenix collapsed outside Johnny Depp's Los Angeles club The leer Room, having consumed a speedball on top of other dmgs.
ITIm Buckley (1947-75) A key figure in the psychedelia movement. Buckley had reined in his drug use while touring. At the end of the tour. he rewarded himself with a big. fat line of cocaine. Except it wasn‘t cocaine. I Hillel Slovak (1962-88) The lsraeli-bom guitarist was a founder member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Just as the band were breaking through. their Iinchpin succumbed to an overdose.
I Pamela Courson (1946-74) Three years after the death of her common-law husband Jim Morrison. Courson died at home. apparently of an overdose. LJke Morrison. she was 27.
56 THE LIST :4 your 801‘ gout:
ENGAGE
Anyone who has seen Trainspotting will remember the horrors Renton (right) went through while trying to kick heroin
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Lethal injection
The glamorous side of heroin is matched by the shocking psychological damage it causes, as Max
Robertson discovers.
here's a particular kind ot‘
glamour associated yy ith
heroin. lt‘s neatly \llllittitlt'tsetl hy the old cliche: ‘liy e last. die young. stay pretty‘. Nice idea. httt let‘s not kid ourselyes. l)ying young is sorttething most M tl\ try ltard to ayoid. .-\nd when did yotr last meet a t‘ast-liy'ing junkie‘.’ :\.\ l‘ot' stay ing pretty. that‘s qtrite a challenge when your llt‘st priority in lite is finding ten qttid for your ne\t hag.
But nobody start\ taking heroin yy ith a y'ieyy to becoming a desperate loser. Taking drugs can he a blast. So it you‘re ayy'are ol‘ the dangers. \yhere\ the harm in dahhling'.’ Surely you can try it once or tyy ice \yithout getting hooked‘.’ I pttt this to Lance. a helpline ady'ixer tor Kttoyy the Score. a Scottish organisation proyiding information. adyice and retert‘alx on dtttgx issues.
‘HEROIN IS A VERY, VERY ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE. BUT THE ADDICTION IS PSYCHOLOGICAL'
'l \yotlld say that\ a licliel held hy a lot ol‘ people.. says lance. \yho.
like all Kl‘S stall. is kttoyyrt only hy
his lirxt name. ‘lt‘x certainly a belief
that yyas held by eyery heroin addict \y hen they started usingf
lhat's undeniath true. hut \yhat lance tells me neyt is genuinely surprising. ‘lleroin is a wry. yery addictiye \uhxtance.’ he says. “hut it‘s not yery physically addictiye. ’l'he ittltllcllttlt l\ [Ry clloltigicttl. 'l'lle first time you take it you will hayc huge lt‘c‘llllg\ ol‘ yyarmth. happiness and relayation. .-\nd you \ery quickly start to helieye that these feelings ot' happiness and warmth only come \y ith the substance.
“the reason \yhy an addict stays addicted or someone \ylltl\ ltccll ol'l‘ heroin l'elapsex isn’t lk‘L‘Ltthc they need the substance: it’s because they need the t'eelingx.‘
.\lo\t people haye an ayer'xion to needles. \ti it‘s hardly surprising that heroin ttxel‘\ generally begin by \ltloklltg tlt‘ \ltttt‘tlltg. 'l'ltix tltte\ eliminate some risks: shared or dirty needles cart yery easily transmit blood discaxex including HIV/Aids and Hepatitis ('. .t\nd since most street heroin is around 40 per cent pure. it‘s best to keep that ()(l per cent ot‘ mystery additiyex out ot' the bloodstream.
l‘rttot‘ttrttately. heroin is no lcxx atldicttyc \yhert smoked, lll tact more than ltalt ol those \yho hegrrt hy \rttokirtg it end up ttttecttrrg. lattce ollerx tltree t‘\[tl.tll;tllttll\ lot llll\. "l'he lirxt is peer ptt‘\\tttt': rt you are m a group and tlte group llltl\t‘\ on to injecting. you lolloyy tlte group. llte \ccottd is that your hotly yery qtttckly tlc\clttp\ a tolerance [H llclilllt. \tt yott haye to take rttore and more lust to feel rtorrttal. ltt|ectrrtg [ttll\ titote ol the \tthstartce into your hloodxtreant straight ayyay it lllllllllll\L‘\ \yaxte. hasically. .\nd the tltird |\ rrtottetary. Injecting rx three to tour lllllc\ more el'licient. It's a much \trongcr arid litxtct' hit. \tt you hay c to ll\C a lot lexx to get tllc \artte kick.‘
l'or people hooked on heroin. money ycry qtrickly hccorrtex a prohlerrt. \\'rth \olltc addicts lryirtg to \core around xeyen hags a day. it‘s art cypcnxrye hahit to sustain 'l‘hix cart haye as much impact on health ;t\ the drtrg itscll. .t\\ lance pith rt: ‘\\‘hat kind ot' lilextyle are you clltNl\lllf_' ll you are a heroin addict 7‘
Its not all that l;t\l. artd it's certainly ttot pretty. But it you really do want to die young. it could he just \y hat you're alter.
Know the Score, 0800 587 5879 Provides information and advice on drugs in Scotland. Calls are free and confidential and will not show up on your phone bill. www.knowthescore.info Narcotics Anonymous Scotland West Coast: PO Box 16177, Glasgow, G13 2YT, 07071 248 710. East Coast: PO Box 235, Edinburgh, EH6 8JE, 07071 223 441. www.ukna.org