Amsterdam to start selling drug testing kits after 'white heroin' kills tourists

Amsterdam to start selling drug testing kits after 'white heroin' kills tourists
(Image credit: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

After three British tourists died from snorting what they thought was cocaine, head shops in Amsterdam (called "smart shops") will start selling kits to test drugs for heroin.

The inexpensive kits will be also be available for purchase through street teams, Amsterdam's Het Parool reports. The tourists, all in their early 20s, were found dead after ingesting what turned out to be "white heroin," Agence France Presse reports. At least 17 other visitors have required medical assistance after suffering from respiratory failure, police say.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.