ADULT shops are selling a potentially deadly prescription-only inhalant to drug users under the guise of a video head cleaner. An investigation by The Daily Telegraph has revealed isobutyl nitrite, which can trigger cardiac arrest when inhaled, is being openly sold to drug users under various brand names including Rush, Ram and Quicksilver. At about $15 a bottle, isobutyl nitrite is potentially lethal when swallowed and can cause sudden death when mixed with other prescription medications. Despite police raids on seven Kings Cross adult-shops last week which allegedly uncovered a stash of illegal inhalants, other shops continue to peddle the products. Some have display cases on their front counters showcasing the broad range of illegal inhalants for sale. The Daily Telegraph visited five adultshops to purchase isobutyl nitrite this week. Two stores offered to sell us the product and a third referred us to another store that would.``The cheaper ones give you a bit more of a headache,'' one salesman at an inner-city adult shop said. When asked if we should sniff it, he replied: ``Yeah, once you get outside [the store].'' National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre spokesman Paul Dillon said the drug was often sold so openly many users believed it to be legal and safe. But he warned that assuming nitrites were safe could prove a deadly mistake. ``All drugs have risks involved and just because you can buy it over the counter does not necessarily mean it is a safe drug,'' he said.
``There have been deaths linked to nitrites, particularly when swallowed, and there are a range of other risks associated with its use.'' The chemical is listed as a Schedule 4 prescription-only drug under the Therapeutic Goods Act.
Anybody caught selling it could face a six-month jail term, heavy fines or both. People caught carrying the drug could also face prosecution. ``When people are stopped and searched at dance parties and nitrites are found they actually think they are legal,'' Mr Dillon said. NSW Police drug squad Detective Acting Inspector Brendan Gordon said being unaware of the law wouldn't be enough to escape prosecution for the illegal supply or possession of a prescribed drug.
``Possession of a prescribed, restricted substance is an offence,'' he said. ``It is an offence to sell [isobutyl nitrite], and it is an offence to possess it.'' How users are affected * Isobutyl nitrite is a member of the nitrite group of chemicals used medicinally in some cardiac procedures and to treat cyanide poisoning * The immediate effects of sniffing nitrites include an intense head spin and relaxing of the muscles. Effects last between two and five minutes * Sniffing nitrites can trigger cardiac arrest in some users
* It is illegal to sell and possess without a prescription