Rummy gin

A story from Uganda:

At least 22 people have died and nine more have been hospitalized after drinking illegal, homemade gin, a health official said Wednesday.

A 1-liter bottle of the illicit gin sells for US$0.40 (euro.30) and is popular among poor Ugandans because it is cheap and extremely strong. The ingredients are often unknown.

Ring any bells?

If it is not pure drugs that kill, but impure drugs and the mixture of drugs, then the myth of the heroin overdose can be dangerous. If users had a guaranteed pure supply of heroin which they relied on, there would be little more likelihood of toxic doses than occur with narcotics administered in a hospital.

But when people take whatever they can off the street, they have no way of knowing how the drug is adulterated. And when they decide to augment heroin's effects, possibly because they do not want to take too much heroin, they may place themselves in the greatest danger.