tranquilo
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2000
- Messages
- 1,077
More proof that not only is education the key but that clubs and the 'rave' scene and MDMA don't really mix.
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,515254,00.html
*****************
Deaths from the drug ecstasy are at a record high, with the rate of people dying after taking it almost trebling so far this year.
An average of eight people have been killed by the drug annually since it first started being used 'recreationally' in the UK in the late Eighties. Around 90 people have died in all. But this year has seen at least 11 deaths and experts fear as many as 25 deaths could be recorded by the end of 2001.
Last week two young men died after taking ecstasy at a rave in London. Stephen Brett, 19, and Bret Gilkes, 20, both took at least one pill with a five-pronged crown stamped on it on Saturday night. They later collapsed and were rushed to hospital. By Tuesday both were dead. A third man remains critically ill in hospital.
In May two female teenage students died after taking so-called 'super-strength' ecstasy pills. The pictures of the bloated body of Lorna Spinks, 19, shocked the nation. Subsequent analysis by police showed that both women had taken pills from a batch that was coloured lime-green and stamped with a euro symbol. They contained 129mg of MDMA, the active ecstasy ingredient, nearly 50mg more than is normally found in a single pill.
Police initially said that they feared the pills that killed Brett and Gilkes last week contained strychnine, the rat poison, or had been part of a 'rogue' batch.
But on Friday police said that analysis of the pills revealed normal levels of MDMA and were not contaminated. The most likely cause of death was heatstroke.
Det Supt Adrian Maybanks, of Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Group, said preliminary tests showed Brett, from Surrey, died from liver and kidney failure.
Dr John Ramsey, head of the toxicology unit at St George's Hospital medical school in London, has been analysing drugs found in clubs and pubs in British cities for three years. 'Most deaths are caused by MDMA. Tablets contaminated with something toxic are extremely rare,' he said.
Though police in Surrey recently warned of 'polos' - ecstasy tablets laced with heroin - Ramsay said he had never come across any such mix. 'We do find ephedrine and ketamine and other drugs sold as ecstasy but not usually mixed with it. They are not generally life-threatening.'
Experts say that the majority of deaths are caused by the conditions in which ecstasy is taken rather than the drug itself. MDMA simultaneously raises the body temperature while inhibiting the body's natural mechanisms for regulating its heat.
'Once the body temperature reaches 40C (104F) everything falls apart. A crowded, badly ventilated club is exactly the worst place you could possibly imagine for taking ecstasy,' one expert said. 'People want to blame contamination, but that's a comforting myth.'
The rave at which Brett and Gilkes died was in a nightclub under the arches of London Bridge. It was a very hot night and some reports suggested the ambient temperature inside the club had reached 40C. Seven people were rushed to hospital as dozens collapsed. Police are investigating ventilation systems.
Harry Shapiro, of the charity Drugscope, said the increase in deaths might be linked to a lack of drugs education.
'Many of the young people now taking ecstasy may not have been exposed to the same sort of harm reduction advice prevalent a few years ago,' he said. 'They are not following the basic rules that first-generation clubbers grew up with.'
There is growing pressure for better medical provision in clubs as well as for some kind of facility allowing users to check the strength of the pills they intend to to take. Police sources said last week that they feared such a move would legitimise the use of the drug. They urged all club owners to take extra safety measures such as providing free drinking water and avoiding overcrowding.
Ecstasy has only been linked to the deaths of 90 people; experts say that many more will have been killed in car accidents and similar incidents in which ecstasy has played a part. They point out that 75 young people die from glue sniffing each year and receive far less publicity.
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,515254,00.html
*****************
Deaths from the drug ecstasy are at a record high, with the rate of people dying after taking it almost trebling so far this year.
An average of eight people have been killed by the drug annually since it first started being used 'recreationally' in the UK in the late Eighties. Around 90 people have died in all. But this year has seen at least 11 deaths and experts fear as many as 25 deaths could be recorded by the end of 2001.
Last week two young men died after taking ecstasy at a rave in London. Stephen Brett, 19, and Bret Gilkes, 20, both took at least one pill with a five-pronged crown stamped on it on Saturday night. They later collapsed and were rushed to hospital. By Tuesday both were dead. A third man remains critically ill in hospital.
In May two female teenage students died after taking so-called 'super-strength' ecstasy pills. The pictures of the bloated body of Lorna Spinks, 19, shocked the nation. Subsequent analysis by police showed that both women had taken pills from a batch that was coloured lime-green and stamped with a euro symbol. They contained 129mg of MDMA, the active ecstasy ingredient, nearly 50mg more than is normally found in a single pill.
Police initially said that they feared the pills that killed Brett and Gilkes last week contained strychnine, the rat poison, or had been part of a 'rogue' batch.
But on Friday police said that analysis of the pills revealed normal levels of MDMA and were not contaminated. The most likely cause of death was heatstroke.
Det Supt Adrian Maybanks, of Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Group, said preliminary tests showed Brett, from Surrey, died from liver and kidney failure.
Dr John Ramsey, head of the toxicology unit at St George's Hospital medical school in London, has been analysing drugs found in clubs and pubs in British cities for three years. 'Most deaths are caused by MDMA. Tablets contaminated with something toxic are extremely rare,' he said.
Though police in Surrey recently warned of 'polos' - ecstasy tablets laced with heroin - Ramsay said he had never come across any such mix. 'We do find ephedrine and ketamine and other drugs sold as ecstasy but not usually mixed with it. They are not generally life-threatening.'
Experts say that the majority of deaths are caused by the conditions in which ecstasy is taken rather than the drug itself. MDMA simultaneously raises the body temperature while inhibiting the body's natural mechanisms for regulating its heat.
'Once the body temperature reaches 40C (104F) everything falls apart. A crowded, badly ventilated club is exactly the worst place you could possibly imagine for taking ecstasy,' one expert said. 'People want to blame contamination, but that's a comforting myth.'
The rave at which Brett and Gilkes died was in a nightclub under the arches of London Bridge. It was a very hot night and some reports suggested the ambient temperature inside the club had reached 40C. Seven people were rushed to hospital as dozens collapsed. Police are investigating ventilation systems.
Harry Shapiro, of the charity Drugscope, said the increase in deaths might be linked to a lack of drugs education.
'Many of the young people now taking ecstasy may not have been exposed to the same sort of harm reduction advice prevalent a few years ago,' he said. 'They are not following the basic rules that first-generation clubbers grew up with.'
There is growing pressure for better medical provision in clubs as well as for some kind of facility allowing users to check the strength of the pills they intend to to take. Police sources said last week that they feared such a move would legitimise the use of the drug. They urged all club owners to take extra safety measures such as providing free drinking water and avoiding overcrowding.
Ecstasy has only been linked to the deaths of 90 people; experts say that many more will have been killed in car accidents and similar incidents in which ecstasy has played a part. They point out that 75 young people die from glue sniffing each year and receive far less publicity.
P) and gain a little something from it.