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Amnesty bins could be used following drug death
thewest.com.au
5th February 2009, 17:00 WST
Just days after a teenage girl died after apparently swallowing several ecstasy pills at the Big Day Out, police have agreed in principle to amnesty bins being set up at similar festivals to allow people to dispose of drugs without fear of prosecution.
Gemma Thoms, 17, who had used ecstasy before, according to her best friend, took several tablets in fear police would catch her with the drugs.
Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said the idea of providing bins where people could dispose drugs without being charged was a “reasonable” idea.
WA police have been forced to defend using sniffer dogs and searching festival goers after claims Ms Thoms consumed several ecstasy pills before entering the venue, fearing she would be caught by police.
“We would be willing to cooperate if that was done with another agency but that’s not to say that we would change our strategy,” he said.
“We will be at the Big Day Out doing exactly the same thing next year.”
Ms Thoms’ mother has described the horror of her daughter’s final moments to warn other young people of the dangers of so-called recreational drugs.
Peta, who did not want her surname published, said her daughter “cooked from the inside” after overdosing.
In the following hours, her body temperature soared to 43C and her resting heart rate hit 150 beats a minute.
The stress caused her heart and lungs to fill with fluid and, as her organs failed, doctors used drugs usually reserved for cardiac patients to try to stem internal bleeding.
“She had heated her body up and it just failed, all her organs failed,” Peta told Today Tonight last night.
“She was cooking from the inside.”
Peta said she talked about the dangers of drug use with her daughter and believed her daughter knew enough to make the right decisions.
She was told her daughter took a pill before leaving home that morning but at the time she put Ms Thoms’ bubbly behaviour down to excitement over her first outdoor concert.
Peta said she did not blame anyone for her daughter’s death but the use of police drug sniffer dogs at the entrance to the concert meant it was inevitable that people would be scared into swallowing all their drugs to avoid being caught.
“I want people to know that she was no druggie, she was a beautiful girl who worked hard every single day, right up until she died,” Peta said.
“She had friends who loved her and she had an enthusiasm for life. She made a stupid mistake, that’s all.”
Ms Thoms’ best friend Cassandra, who was with the apprentice hairdresser when she collapsed, said Ms Thom used ecstasy previously but “it was not a regular thing”.
Ms Thoms was worried the police would ruin their day and had not thought of the dangers of taking several pills at once.
“Her lips went really pale. She was holding on to my hand then she just started to squeeze it and she fell on the floor,” Cassandra said. “I just panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”
Peta said she received a message that Ms Thoms was unwell but was not aware of her daughter’s plight until two police arrived at the family’s home to say she was in hospital.
“She had six doctors around her,” Peta said. “She had a tube down her throat, tubes in her arms, sheets over her body. She had her eyes closed and she was in an induced coma.
“I just held her face and kissed her face all over. I told her not to be scared and I just kept hugging her.”
It is understood detectives raided a property yesterday searching for the dealer who supplied the ecstasy.
link
thewest.com.au
5th February 2009, 17:00 WST
Just days after a teenage girl died after apparently swallowing several ecstasy pills at the Big Day Out, police have agreed in principle to amnesty bins being set up at similar festivals to allow people to dispose of drugs without fear of prosecution.
Gemma Thoms, 17, who had used ecstasy before, according to her best friend, took several tablets in fear police would catch her with the drugs.
Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said the idea of providing bins where people could dispose drugs without being charged was a “reasonable” idea.
WA police have been forced to defend using sniffer dogs and searching festival goers after claims Ms Thoms consumed several ecstasy pills before entering the venue, fearing she would be caught by police.
“We would be willing to cooperate if that was done with another agency but that’s not to say that we would change our strategy,” he said.
“We will be at the Big Day Out doing exactly the same thing next year.”
Ms Thoms’ mother has described the horror of her daughter’s final moments to warn other young people of the dangers of so-called recreational drugs.
Peta, who did not want her surname published, said her daughter “cooked from the inside” after overdosing.
In the following hours, her body temperature soared to 43C and her resting heart rate hit 150 beats a minute.
The stress caused her heart and lungs to fill with fluid and, as her organs failed, doctors used drugs usually reserved for cardiac patients to try to stem internal bleeding.
“She had heated her body up and it just failed, all her organs failed,” Peta told Today Tonight last night.
“She was cooking from the inside.”
Peta said she talked about the dangers of drug use with her daughter and believed her daughter knew enough to make the right decisions.
She was told her daughter took a pill before leaving home that morning but at the time she put Ms Thoms’ bubbly behaviour down to excitement over her first outdoor concert.
Peta said she did not blame anyone for her daughter’s death but the use of police drug sniffer dogs at the entrance to the concert meant it was inevitable that people would be scared into swallowing all their drugs to avoid being caught.
“I want people to know that she was no druggie, she was a beautiful girl who worked hard every single day, right up until she died,” Peta said.
“She had friends who loved her and she had an enthusiasm for life. She made a stupid mistake, that’s all.”
Ms Thoms’ best friend Cassandra, who was with the apprentice hairdresser when she collapsed, said Ms Thom used ecstasy previously but “it was not a regular thing”.
Ms Thoms was worried the police would ruin their day and had not thought of the dangers of taking several pills at once.
“Her lips went really pale. She was holding on to my hand then she just started to squeeze it and she fell on the floor,” Cassandra said. “I just panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”
Peta said she received a message that Ms Thoms was unwell but was not aware of her daughter’s plight until two police arrived at the family’s home to say she was in hospital.
“She had six doctors around her,” Peta said. “She had a tube down her throat, tubes in her arms, sheets over her body. She had her eyes closed and she was in an induced coma.
“I just held her face and kissed her face all over. I told her not to be scared and I just kept hugging her.”
It is understood detectives raided a property yesterday searching for the dealer who supplied the ecstasy.
link
