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NEWS: Rave Drug Tests Won't Save Lives - Advertiser 01/12/04

Cowboy Mac

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Rave drug tests won't save lives
By EDITH BEVIN, CARA JENKIN and DANIEL CLARKE

DRUG testing on offer at a weekend dance party will not save young South Australian ravers from the devastating effects of Red Mitsubishi, experts warned last night.

Ravers going to the Enchanted Forest dance party this weekend have told The Advertiser there will be "drugs aplenty".

"You see people taking drugs all the time. There's mostly party pills going around that everybody takes these days," said 19-year-old Michael Paul.

"Every five minutes a dealer is looking to sell. You will get offered pills. It would not take long to find some."

Police and ambulance officers have visited the site of the rave and have plans to tackle illicit drugs and possible overdoses.

Enchanted Forest organisers yesterday refused to comment on drugs or testing at the event.

But The Advertiser has learned partygoers expect testing facilities to be offered so they can check the purity of their drugs.

The tests have been used overseas. They allow users to test if the main ingredient is the chemical MDMA, or other more dangerous substitutes.

Police would not comment on testing being offered at the event.

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre communications manager Paul Dillon said problems with Red Mitsubishi stemmed from its purity.

"The ecstasy that is being called Red Mitsubishi has very high-strength MDMA," Mr Dillon said.

"The vast majority of ecstasy made in Australia has no MDMA in it at all – it's all methamphetamine.

"The reactions that are being reported would seem to be reactions to MDMA – maybe that our users haven't built up a tolerance to it. Testing these drugs is not going to do much good because it seems that the reality is what you want from the drug is actually causing the trouble. The tests show that it contains MDMA."

Enchanted Forest is being held at an undisclosed location "at least one hour's drive" from Adelaide, according to its website.

Organisers will release maps with the location of the rave on Friday night.

Most ravers are expected to arrive on chartered buses.

It starts at 2pm on Saturday and runs until 7am on Sunday.

Some parents have contacted The Advertiser, saying they have banned their children from the event because of the predicted availability of drugs and the secrecy over the location.

"My older daughter said she saw someone airlifted to hospital after an overdose – this event is not something that should be all ages," said a parent of a 14-year-old girl.

"It's in a non-disclosed area out of Adelaide with little mobile coverage and parents don't know until the last minute where it is."

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Keith man Christopher Gurney last night remained in a critical condition in hospital after overdosing on Red Mitsubishi.

I am surprised by the short-sightedness of NDARC in suggesting that because a reagent reaction would give a positive result for MDxx with a Red Mitsubishi that the whole idea of pill testing is of no value. Has everyone forgotten that lab testing is meant to be used in addition to less accurate forms of spot testing such as reagent tests? Has everyone forgotten that this system has worked flawlessly throughout Europe since the early 90's? Why is Australia dragging its feet and putting people unnecessarily at risk when there is a safer alternative available?

edit: read this post. Paul Dillion's comments were taken out of context.
 
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"The ecstasy that is being called Red Mitsubishi has very high-strength MDMA," Mr Dillon said.

Man I gotta get me one of those. :D

"The vast majority of ecstasy made in Australia has no MDMA in it at all – it's all methamphetamine.

Bullshit. I am yet to get an all speed bomb. I've tested the last few pills I've eaten and they're MDMA. Felt at least as good as the others I've had. These people are clearly going to the wrong parties.

I think they're neglecting lab testing because it isn't immediately available to the average munter. Thus when they get their pills, all information they have before eating them is the results from the reagent test, which can be fooled. While they have a point in believing this, it's incredibly short-sighted.
 
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Keith man Christopher Gurney last night remained in a critical condition in hospital after overdosing on Red Mitsubishi.
Poor guy... I can't believe his name is Gurney~!
 
From the quote from Paul Dillon, it looks like he is referring just to the particular situation of the red mitsubishi containing high amounts of MDMA. Yes, in this case a colour test is simply going to say it contains MDMA, and if the strength or purity is the issue, the colour test is not telling you much.

I doubt Paul Dillon is bagging testing in general, although that's the way the media has interpreted the comment (grr)
 
^
yeah sounds like something that has been taken out of context or misquoted and used to help support a certain argument. As far as I am concerned the fact that the strength of pills can't be tested with colourmetric testing just adds to the argument in favour of allowing further testing. What a misleading and infuriating article.
 
The media misreporting the facts? misleading the public? misinterpreting? missing the point?

Preposterous!
 
The simple fact is we still have no idea if there is anything other than MDMA and caffeine in Red Mitsubishis, or if there are multiple batches, because we have no efficient system of reporting street level drugs.

And why teh fuck is "Red Misubishi" now being reported as a singular, as tho it is it's own class of drug?
 
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I've spoken with Paul who is very embarassed about the headline, and as you suspected, his comments were taken totally out of context. He thought he was doing another (yawn!) interview about Red mitsubishis, and from my perspective what has been stated in quotes is in fact factually correct. I assumed that he had said something to diss the pill testing programme, which accounted for the headline, and sent him a really foul email (sorry Paul!).
I have tracked down all of the journos and spoken with their Chief of Staff, a chap called Rod Savage. He admits that there is little correlation between story and headline, and has agreed that the journos involved should come to a lecture I'm giving tonight to the Forensic Society of South Australia on the advantages of pill testing (not that my lectures should ever be considered punishing;)- I am providing an education service). He has also stated that because I wasn't consulted, my side of the story will be given prominence in tomorrows Advertiser. I have given my word that I will not gut and salt his journos like fish tonight...
I'm also announcing a head count of people hurt and killed between now and when pill testing IS introduced, and inviting their loved ones to personally contact law enforcement agencies and politicians opposed to pill testing for a 'please explain'. I don't think using pills in Australia is a good idea, for health reasons, but being impulsive and making a few wrong decisions as a teen or young adult shouldn't carry with it a death sentence...
 
And why the fuck is "Red Mitsubishi" now being reported as a singular, as tho it is it's own class of drug?

Agreed.. the cringe-factor was off the scale while I was reading that piece of 'journalism'... 8(
 
Interesting to see that in the second edition of the paper they changed the title to 'won't stop deaths' instead of 'won't save lives' it appears??

Does anyone have more info about Christopher Gurney, or a copy of the article that was in the paper on the 30th?
 
johnboy said:
And why teh fuck is "Red Misubishi" now being reported as a singular, as tho it is it's own class of drug?

I've heard it made out as it own class of drug since the whole thing began many of the first news reports talking about the new party drug - red mitsubishi/death. Annoying as well because a fair amount of pill muchers don't even know what they take, just eat what their mates give em so wouldn't be concerned about a new party drug red mitsubishi coz they "just do pills and choof"...
 
What i hate is, they call it a "rave drug"

ive eaten a shitload, and never been to a rave once.

its a drug that anyone and everyone takes, mothers, fathers, ya sister your brother, your KIDS.
 
"The vast majority of ecstasy made in Australia has no MDMA in it at all – it's all methamphetamine.
Whether he was misquoted or not, this is extremely misleading. Maybe most "ecstasy pills" manufactured in Australia contain methamphetamine. However, in terms of drugs sold in tablet form as ecstasy, out there on Australian streets, the vast majority are MDMA.

I have had large numbers of lab results communicated to me first hand, and there is simply no doubt. If a pill is sold as ecstasy, there is a significant chance that it contains MDMA. (I would say 70% - 80% ). The majority of pills being MDMA on its own.

So the above comment is garbage and means nothing.

We know that Red Mitsis have a strong dose. However, that there is caffeine in there too could have something to do with the problems that they have caused. (Yes I know many MDMA pills contain caffeine) But lab tests would at least show up which pills had caffeine in it and which didn't. Then at least the user could make an informed choice - "Am I going to be happy with a pill that contains caffeine or will I insist on one that is only MDMA?"

Further, lab tests could show which pills are more "dirty" than others. The chromatographs will indicate the relative proportion of all types of chemicals in a pill in minute quantities. The identity of some of these chemicals may be unknown. So you may have a 120mg MDMA pill with peaks all throughout the graph. Whilst its strength renders it of high purity (~40% pure of a 300mg pill) it does not mean that it does not also contain some nasty chemicals.

Another pill may only contain 80mg, however the chromatograph is "clean" - only indicating that MDMA and binders are present in appreciable quantities.

Lab tests are the way of the future. Of course MDMA can be dangerous in high doses. It seems to be of a greater problem when combined with caffeine or mixed with binders that render its onset time long; or just pressed unusually dense and slow to break up. (People double drop) But it does not mean that we should not be pursuing the avenues to maximise the amount of information available.

What is in the pills is just one sub-set of the type of information that must be provided.
 
I know what you are saying, Biscuit, but parse the sentence;

"The vast majority of ecstasy made in Australia has no MDMA in it at all – it's all methamphetamine."

Paul seldoms says anything dumb, it's just the context of the stories that make it seems foolish.
 
That was my point Jonhboy.

I agree that is what he was saying - that most ecstasy is not made in Australia. But who cares where it is made - the point is most "substances" on the street sold as ecstasy, are generally MDMA only, MDMA derivatives or MDMA in combination with other substances.

"The ecstasy that is being called Red Mitsubishi has very high-strength MDMA," Mr Dillon said.

The vast majority of ecstasy made in Australia has no MDMA in it at all – it's all methamphetamine."

"The reactions that are being reported would seem to be reactions to MDMA – maybe that our users haven't built up a tolerance to it.
The point that is communicated to me by those paragraphs is that:

(i) The Red mitsi is somewhat unique because not only does it actually contain MDMA, it contains a high dose;
(ii) That most MDMA made in Australia is not MDMA and either red mitsi is unique for Australian manufacturers or not made in Australia.
(iii) That "our users" have not built up a tolerance to MDMA yet because they seldom consume it.

Further, I still think point (ii) squashed between points (i) and (iii) would imply to many that the majority of ecstasy sold (rather than manufactured) in Australia contains no MDMA at all.

That is how I read it - obviously Paul knows his stuff, but in this case those three paragraphs lead to an erroneous assumption by I am sure a majority of readers - especially those who have little understanding of the subject.

(P.S I of course am aware that Paul may not have uttered those 3 paragraphs in a row like that without further material in between. God I hate journalists reporting on this subject)
 
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Paul was horrified by how this article misquoted him. If you have any objections it is probably best to take it up with the people from the Advertiser. I know I did. David and I spent a lot of Saturday night telling them to their faces what idiots they were. We can only hope that some of it got thru.
 
Well, it looks like everybody is onto dealing with this article swiftly, but let me just add that that article made me absolutely fucking fume. Journalists really, really need to learn to not twist shit to a reandom opinion they decide will be popular.

Obviously this apply's across the board, but it has a particularly strong impact when reinforcing imbedded conservative norms that should not be reinforced...
 
Thanks JB - good to hear.

And you are right, people who are complaining, myself included, should get off their butts and complain in the right places as well as on here.
 
johnboy said:
Paul was horrified by how this article misquoted him. If you have any objections it is probably best to take it up with the people from the Advertiser. I know I did. David and I spent a lot of Saturday night telling them to their faces what idiots they were. We can only hope that some of it got thru.

Im glad to hear you let them have it JB :)
 
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