"Ecstasy users share data on Net" - courier mail

Ecstasy users share data on Net
Joel Dullroy, youth affairs reporter
ECSTASY users are logging on to Internet sites to share information about potentially lethal drug batches.
Health authorities warned users they were playing Russian roulette by trusting unreliable websites.
They also log their experiences of different batches of pills. Each batch has identifying colours and symbols.
Users log the pill's effect and identify suspect batches which may contain deadly cocktails of filler ingredients, including strychnine, cocaine, heroin and household cleaning products.
They also note each pill's "brand", imprint, colour, size, shape, post photographs and give a rating out of 10.
Drug user's support groups said the websites are vital in providing health and safety information, but Queensland Health said the websites presented an overtly positive message of drug use, and did not identify harmful effects.
Users could not be sure if the reports were accurate, and may be tricked into buying a bad patch of pills, a Queensland Health spokesman said.
The sites network information from across the globe, with specific pages for Australia and New Zealand.
Recent listings include "Deanj" from the Gold Coast, who logged a report about blue-barrel, light-blue pills, noting they "came on after about 90 mins, extremely good pill", and "98095" from Sydney warned about 'Pink!', which caused "very bad jaw clenching".
Other reported symbols that can be found on the pills include the Qantas kangaroo, $, No 1, MTV, broken heart, castle, the Honda symbol, and the Apple Macintosh symbol.
Users also log the results from E-Z Test kits, which cost $55 at some record and rave clothing stores, and are legal to sell but illegal to use.
A Brisbane clubber said ecstasy users regularly check the websites to read other user's experiences of pills before they take them.
"They're helpful because sometimes you're not sure if a pill is dodgy or not, and you can see what other people thought," the clubber said.
But he said most users were aware the sites were potentially inaccurate.
Drug and Alcohol Foundation spokesman Bob Aldred said the sites were in line with harm minimisation strategies.
"We should be trying to give as much information to drug users as we possibly can, not to encourage them to use more but to reduce the risk that they may suffer," Mr Aldred said.
But he warned users to be wary of information, which was potentially incorrect and could be tampered with.
Queensland Health spokesman John Scott said users should refer to government-sponsored drug safety sites, which were more reliable than open discussion lists.
A spokesman for Justice and Customs Minister Senator Chris Ellison said there was difficulty policing international Net sites, and said he would refer the matter to the Australian Federal Police.
Website users believe the AFP are already aware of their operation, and post messages warning that "Federal Police monitor this site".
It's sad to see they've even managed the heroin & household cleaning products myth, while attacking a service that has probably saved so many lives.

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Drug user's support groups said the websites are vital in providing health and safety information, but Queensland Health said the websites presented an overtly positive message of drug use, and did not identify harmful effects.
You think??... I think he got his wires crossed somewhere??..

Other reported symbols that can be found on the pills include the Qantas kangaroo, $, No 1, MTV, broken heart, castle, the Honda symbol, and the Apple Macintosh symbol.
what relivence is this to the article as a whole?.. did you do this just to fill in your word count?

Drug and Alcohol Foundation spokesman Bob Aldred said the sites were in line with harm minimisation strategies.
"We should be trying to give as much information to drug users as we possibly can, not to encourage them to use more but to reduce the risk that they may suffer," Mr Aldred said.
something to be proud about... it is in line, so why all the fuss??... this total clashes with the first quote I made of the article!...
[ 22 April 2002: Message edited by: deeCee1 ]

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Net ecstasy - Drug reviews online
Kamahl Cogdon
Young Victorians are using internet reviews of hundreds of ecstasy tablets to choose their party pills.
Sites rating different ecstasy tablets and describing the high they provide are readily available online.
The Australian Drug Foundation today warned many of the sites were deliberately aimed at young people and glorified ecstasy use.
"They increase the desirability and add to the whole secret culture surrounding ecstasy," spokeswoman Anne Learmonth said.
"Unfortunately, these kinds of websites are all too common.
"They are usually run by older people who are out to manipulate young people, knowing they are big users of the Internet."
Learmonth said the sites failed to inform readers about the dangers of ecstasy, including the poisonous chemical cocktails often used to concoct the pills.
Learmonth said she was aware of at least five internet sites posting ecstasy reviews.
One internet site - seen by MX - rates, reviews and describes hundreds of different ecstasy pills.
Contributions from Melbourne users include 8/10 and 9/10 ratings for a pill known as Orange JA.
User "property magnate" said he "began to feel loved up, then fingers wouldn't stop clapping against my palms" 45 minutes after taking the tablet.
He said he experienced "major eye wobbles" and clenching of his jaw, but "couldn't get the smile off my face".
"FeRoCioS" said the pill "sent me straight to la-la land" and urged others to store "these little dynamites" for a rainy day.
But "pillhead123" said his encounter with a pill dubbed White Armani left him sick for three days and rated it zero.
Drug user support groups defended the websites, saying they provided vital health and safety information for users.
A regular clubber said ecstasy users often checked websites to read about others' experiences before taking pills.
The things I do for Bluelight... I'm not a fan of MX at all, yet here I am typing out an article...

Learmonth said the sites failed to inform readers about the dangers of ecstasy, including the poisonous chemical cocktails often used to concoct the pills. She obviously hasn't looked at Bluelight, and if she had, she didn't read it... And the links to Bluelight from Pillreports aren't very hard to find, so claiming that Pillreports itself doesn't provide that information is irrelevant...
At least this article simply stated some quotes and didn't make any baseless speculations... Unlike the Courier Mail article...

But he said most users were aware the sites were potentially inaccurate. ...But unfortunately most readers of the news are unaware just how inaccurate that 'news' is...
I do feel sorry for journos who cop the blame when editors warp their articles, I guess most of us don't consider that... I'd be interested in seeing the article before the editors got to it...
However there is no excuse for reporting 'facts' which are completely incorrect, such as the fabled presence of heroin/coke/strychnine/household cleaning products in pills, as a few of us have also pointed out...

Queensland Health spokesman John Scott said users should refer to government-sponsored drug safety sites, which were more reliable than open discussion lists. Hahahaha now that's truly laughable... Nice one John Scott... All too often government-sponsored sites are more unreliable than a dodgy dealer in a club just about to get raided... Some open discussion lists are unreliable yes, but Bluelight with its many resources isn't, and used in conjunction with other sites such as erowid.org and lycaeum.org, its much more relable than a government-sponsored site, and erowid and lycaeum simply provide the facts, so they're a lot less biased...
Other than that the article wasn't too bad, it did provide a relatively balance opinion...
Without Pillreports, users would have no way of comparing pills beyond simple word of mouth. People will continue to take pills regardless of what measures are put in place to try to stop them, prohibition doesn't work, and people will continue to harm themselves unless they are provided with the knowledge they need in order to prevent that harm... Pillreports and Bluelight are two ways of providing that information...
As JB said, if users had access to lab pill testing facilities, then there would be no need for pillreports... People will take ecstasy regardless of what is done to try to stop them, so arguing that the sites are inaccurate and are used to manipulate young people would be a moot point if there were quantifiable ways of discounting that inaccuracy...
[ 22 April 2002: Message edited by: Tarsarlan ]

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