UK Heroin and Ecstasy Deaths Rose Dramatically in 2000

UK Heroin and Ecstasy Deaths Rose Dramatically in 2000
LONDON (Reuters Health) Jan 17 - Deaths related to heroin and ecstasy use rose significantly in England and Wales in 2000, according to figures published on Thursday.
Heroin and morphine were implicated in 43% of the 1296 drug-related deaths during the year, said the National Program on Substance Abuse Deaths.
Heroin deaths rose by one-third in 2000 to 551, while 27 people died after taking ecstasy, two-thirds more than the previous year. However, the sharpest rise was in fatalities related to legal analgesic use, which rose 84% to 401.
But overall, drug-related deaths fell 8% from the previous year. There was a significant decline in the number of deaths related to methadone use and to anti-depressant use.
Brighton on England's south coast remains the area with the highest annual death rate per 100,000 population. In 2000, the rate was 32.3 fatalities/100,000 population.
Approximately 68% of those who died from drug use had a history of drug abuse or dependence, the study showed.

hypothetical: for every million people go swimming, one drowns.
more people swim (say, 10 million) - 10 will drown.
hypothetical: every time ten thousand people take ecstasy, one dies.
more people take esctasy (say, 40 thousand) - 40 will die.
mdma is growing in popularity, hence the increased deaths... it's that whole per capita thing... and yes, mdma does kill some people... who lack a particular liver enzyme? i don't know the technicalities of it, but here's a link to good old erowid... look at the last "effect" of mdma. http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_effects.shtml.
[ 21 January 2002: Message edited by: apollo ]

yet holland has reported 0? (last time i heard) fatalities due to mdma last year..
atleast the uk shows it is moving in the right direction tho with recent reclassifying of drugs..

Was the 27 fatalaties a direct casue of ecstasy or were these people just on ecstasy at the time? Its a big difference.

...Also, did they take 'ecstasy' or did they take mdma?
Was mdma the cause of death, or was it one of the many adulterants which take the place of mdma?

good point tarsy... i assumed mdma...

Some perspective:
http://www.spiked-online.com/Sections/Central/Panic/Index.htm