Toxic Ecstasy A Myth, Say Experts
13 July 2001
Contrary to initial speculation that a 'bad batch' of ecstasy was to blame for the deaths of two teenagers at London's Raindance two weeks ago, experts now say that the deaths were caused by overheating and that the tablets contained a 'normal' level of MDMA. Speaking out about the continuing scare-mongering about 'toxic' or 'rogue' ecstasy, some experts now say that the theory of ecstasy contamination is a myth ...
When two nineteen year old men died and others needed hospital treatment after taking ecstasy at the Raindance rave festival held at London's SE1 club late last month, police called for a drugs amnesty, asking clubbers to hand in any ecstasy tablets purchased at the event to the police. Police urged anyone feeling unwell after taking drugs at the event to seek medical attention, and issued warnings that the pills circulating at the event were a 'contaminated' batch. For the full story see our article
(BT: Linked in source webpage).
However, following an investigation, experts now believe that overheating was the most likely cause of the deaths; some reports suggest that the temperature in the venue reached up 40 degrees (see previous article for details). Tests on the ecstasy revealed that the tablets were not contaminated by another substance such as strychnine and that they contained a 'normal' level of MDMA. Speaking to the UK's Guardian newspaper, Dr John Ramsey, Head of toxicology unit at London's St George's hospital, said 'Once the body temperature reaches 40C everything falls apart. A crowded, badly ventilated club is exactly the worst place you could possibly imagine taking ecstasy. People want to blame contamination, but that's a comforting myth' He also added that most people who die from taking ecstasy are killed by MDMA; death by toxic contamination of tablets is extremely rare. Out of the hundreds tested by Ramsay over a period of years, only one ecstasy tablet was ever found to contain traces of any poison. So why does the panic-mongering about 'rogue ecstasy' continue? 'There's an element of denial from the user as to why things went wrong' says Ramsay 'they believe they aren't vunerable, that it was a bad pill ... people really don't want to believe that something that can cause so much pleasure can also kill you.'
(BT: Here comes the good bit)
London police are now embarking upon a new harm reduction strategy, advising ecstasy users to drink plenty of water and to cool down in 'chill-out' areas of nightclubs to prevent dehydration and overheating. They are also advising clubbers to seek advice on safer drug use. There are increasing calls for UK police to allow the introduction of pill-testing in clubs. However, despite their new bids for harm reduction, the UK police force continue to express fears over using pill-testing measures, claiming that the use of these methods would be tantamount legitimising and condoning ecstasy use. But 11 people have died from taking ecstasy in the UK this year, compared with none in Holland, where harm reduction measures such as in-club pill testing are already in operation. And according to a report in the Guardian, the UK's ecstasy death rates are set to continue rising at such a rate that some experts fear as many as 25 deaths could be recorded by the end of 2001.
From:
http://www.clubbed.com/clubbers/article1178.asp
