Ecstasy Deaths in the Media - Paul Dillon cuts thru the crap

[johnboy]

This was in my email this morning. I haven't seen the actual stories yet.

Many of you may have read the story this morning regarding ecstasy deaths, reported in the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun. The opening paragraph claims the following:

The party drug ecstasy is killing more than one person every fortnight nationwide, with almost a third of deaths occurring in car crashes.

As is often the case the story is not entirely accurate, so I would like to give you a little more information.

Unfortunately the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) mortality register does not distinguish between ecstasy and other amphetamine type substances (ATS) related deaths. However, the National Coronial Information System {NCIS} does make this distinction, however these data are quite limited in the information they provide. The NCIS defines a primary contribution as “producing the actual physical harm, most closely linked to the cause of death”, secondary contribution as “involved at the start of the injury event”, tertiary contribution as “other mechanisms involved in the injury event”. If it is thought that drug use contributed to the risk of road traffic crashes, for example, it would be a secondary contribution; if the cause of death was drug toxicity or drug overdose and a drug was one of those detected, it would be implicated as one of the primary contributions to death (note that since ecstasy was usually one of a range of drugs detected, other drugs would also be classed as a primary contribution).

So what does the data tell us? Over the four year period 2001-2004, NCIS identified 112 ecstasy-related deaths. Although ecstasy was deemed to be a primary contributor in 51 (46%) of these, MDMA was the sole drug present in only six (5%) of these deaths.

It is important to note that the majority of deaths were due to either a road traffic crash (RTC, 28%) or drug toxicity (40%). Importantly, MDMA was rarely the only drug identified in drug toxicity deaths (3 of 45 deaths), and never the only drug in the overdose deaths. Some of the causes of the ecstasy-related deaths are particularly interesting and quite bizarre – three deaths were due to drowning, six were hangings and 8 were falls from a height!

Two implications of this data are firstly that death as a direct result of ecstasy consumption seems to be very rare in Australia compared to the extent of use, and ecstasy is usually only one of a range of drugs detected at death (a point that the newspapers chose to ignore!). Secondly, a substantial proportion of ecstasy-related deaths involve a motor vehicle accident.

If you wish to read more about this, you will find the full PDI Bulletin (Kinner, Fowler, Fischer, et al (2005)) at the following location:

http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/NDARCWeb.nsf/resources/BulletinsPDI_2005/$file/PDI+APRIL+2005.pdf

Paul Dillon
Information/Media Liaison Manager
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
UNSW
SYDNEY NSW 2052

(02) 9385 0226 (T)
(02) 9385 0222 (F)

 

[hoptis]

Ecstasy kills more than one person a fortnight
May 22, 2006

THE party drug ecstasy is killing more than one person every fortnight across the country, with almost a third of the deaths caused by car crashes.

A National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre report revealed there were 112 ecstasy-related deaths in Australia from 2001 to 2004, with 28 per cent due to road crashes.

NDARC spokesman Paul Dillon said a recent report showed over a third of people would not combine drug-taking and driving if there were roadside drug testing.

Australia has the highest ecstasy use in the world, with figures from NDARC's 2005 report on ecstasy trends showing lifetime prevalence increased from 1 per cent in 1988 to 7.5 per cent in 2004.

The report shows 67 per cent of respondents who'd driven in the past six months got behind the wheel within an hour of taking illicit drugs, 77 per cent of the drivers had just popped an ecstasy pill.

A young woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said a lack of testing made it easy for people to take drugs and drive.

"I'm going to drive now. The police can't test for it so there is no risk of being caught and it doesn't affect my driving," she said.

Lauren Pokrzyna, 18, said it was common for drug users to drive. "One of my friends does it all the time and I won't get in the car with him."

The high use of the drug was starting to have an impact on physical and psychological health, said NDARC senior investigator Dr Louisa Degenhardt.

The report showed 31 per cent of respondents suffered depression as a result of ecstasy use and 42 per cent identified work or study problems.

From News.com.au / Herald Sun

 

[hoptis]

Secret ecstasy toll
May 22, 2006

THE party drug ecstasy is killing more than one person every fortnight nationwide, with almost a third of deaths occurring in car crashes.

The figures come as the State Government again delayed roadside drug-testing in NSW.

In June 2005, then-acting Chief Superintendent John Lipman announced testing would be introduced early this year -- but The Daily Telegraph understands it has been postponed for a second time.

An RTA spokeswoman would not comment on the delay but said the legislation was currently being prepared.

A report by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre revealed there were 112 ecstasy-related deaths in Australia from 2001 to 2004, with 28 per cent due to road crashes.

NDARC spokesman Paul Dillon said a recent study showed over a third of people would not combine drug taking and driving if there was roadside testing.

Australia has the highest ecstasy use anywhere in the world, with NDARC figures showing lifetime prevalence increased from 1 per cent in 1988 to 7.5 per cent in 2004.

The ecstasy trend report showed 67 per cent of respondents had driven within an hour of taking illicit drugs, 77 per cent of which was ecstasy.

One young woman, who didn't want to be named, said the lack of testing made it easy for people to "drug and drive".

"The police can't test for it so there is no risk of being caught and it doesn't effect my driving," she said.

Lauren Pokrzyna, 18, said it is common for drug-users to drive.

"One of my friends does it all the time and I won't get in the car with him."

The high use of the drug is starting to have an impact on the state's physical and psychological health, according to NDARC's senior investigator Dr Louisa Degenhardt.

"The issue of dependence is one that is coming up. Ecstasy doesn't lend itself to regular daily use but users are reporting feeling the psychological aspects," she said.

The NDARC report showed 31 per cent of respondents suffered depression.

Mr Dillon said the psychological harm of drug use was a much greater threat to health than fatalities.

"A major problems of ecstasy use is the depletion of serotonin that results in depression.

"What we do know is that many young people are going to the doctors in the week following ecstasy use and reporting symptoms of depression and then being prescribed medication."

From Daily Telegraph

And editorial...

And another thing...

IF there is ever evidence the Government must speed up its plans to introduce roadside drug testing for motorists, it is the death toll inflicting our community from ecstasy use.

The drug in recent times has gained a reputation as being relatively harmless despite the death of schoolgirl Anna Wood more than a decade ago.

The truth, however, is ecstasy is dangerous and kills a person every fortnight as well as causing social problems. Many of these deaths occur in car crashes and the sooner we crack down on drug-induced drivers the safety the community will be.

From Daily Telegraph

 

[hoptis]

Ecstasy 'kills one person a fortnight'
By CLARE MASTERS
22 May 2006

THE party drug ecstasy is killing more than one person every fortnight across Australia, with almost a third of the deaths caused by car crashes.

The figures come just over a week after South Australian Democrats Leader Sandra Kanck told Parliament ecstasy was not a dangerous drug.

A report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre reveals there were 112 ecstasy-related deaths in Australia from 2001 to 2004, with 28 per cent due to road crashes. NDARC spokesman Paul Dillon said a recent report showed more than one-third of people would not take drugs and drive if there was roadside drug testing.

Australia has the highest ecstasy use anywhere in the world. Figures from NDARC's 2005 report on ecstasy trends showed use increased from 1 per cent of the population in 1988 to 7.5 per cent in 2004.

The report showed 67 per cent of respondents who had driven in the last six months admitted getting behind the wheel within an hour of taking illicit drugs, and 77 per cent of them had just taken ecstasy.

Lauren Pokrzyna, 18, said it was common for drug-users to drive. "One of my friends does it all the time and I won't get in the car with him," she said.

From The Advertiser

I'd imagine that all of these articles represent a News LTD attack on the drug almost in direct response to Kanck's comments last week.

A similar article also appears in today's Mercury on page 7 but it's not online.

 

[tribesman]

If Sandra Kanck chose her words a bit more wisely than sounding like some sort of e-tard ranting "ecstasy is safe" she may have actually achieved at least a minimal amount of change, rather than a strengthening of the government/media witch hunt.

 

[johnboy]

And not one mention of alcohol. You'd think the comparison between alcohol-related road crashes and ecstasy-related ones would be elemental journalism. But then they'd perhaps have to admit that the majority of these "ecstasy" deaths also had alcohol in their system.

I was speaking to a journalist this week about drug issues, and after we went thru all of the rational arguements for reforms she asked why can't we get this into the debate? The answer is above, in those articles. The media is tightly control and the agenda has been set. No one can stry outside of this bias without be labelled a dangerous lunatic.

 

[johnboy]

If Sandra Kanck chose her words a bit more wisely than sounding like some sort of e-tard ranting "ecstasy is safe" she may have actually achieved at least a minimal amount of change, rather than a strengthening of the government/media witch hunt.

Are you basing that on what your read in the media, or from the Hansard transcripts?

 

[tribesman]

Just read those transcripts. Probably not delivered in the perfect manner but it's a damn way further from what you read about in the reports hey? I retract my previous statement.

 

[johnboy]

Well judge for yourself. As is usually the case it isn't the words, rather the context. If you want to dicuss her words further I'd suggest reading that whole thread and making your comments there.

 

[tribesman]

I was speaking to a journalist this week about drug issues, and after we went thru all of the rational arguements for reforms she asked why can't we get this into the debate? The answer is above, in those articles. The media is tightly control and the agenda has been set. No one can stry outside of this bias without be labelled a dangerous lunatic.

I toast to that. Anyone needing confirmation of this just needs to watch Fox News, or read some of the arguments about the bias it contains: right wing - conservative - Republican US. Murdoch is able to help shape the 'truth' to entire generations of the voting public.

 

[johnny_trance]

Very interesting...well said for the most part by Sandra I thought. It just further highlights the lack of knowledge in the community concerning illicit drugs really.

 

[Portillo]

Great article.The funny thing is that these moral crusades against ecstasy have little or no effect in ecstasy supply or consumption. Perhaps simply making parents panic.

 

[Infinite Jest]

Australia has the highest ecstasy use in the world, with figures from NDARC's 2005 report on ecstasy trends showing lifetime prevalence increased from 1 per cent in 1988 to 7.5 per cent in 2004.

Not to mention that this is probably bullshit, in that it fails to differentiate between the number of people taking ecstasy, and their frequency of usage. I'm not familiar with the Aussie stats, but I'd bet you're *relatively* similar to NZ (which has high prevalence, but very low usage - e.g. 3-4% have tried MDMA, but average consumption is only 1-2 pills/year for most users).

 

[ilikeacid]

This is all so typical of the unenlightened, conservative, medieval propaganda that spews from the pages, indeed airwaves, of any merdoch related media enterprise! It sickens me to see journalists who consistently misrepresent statistics of this nature in order to conform to the wishes of the Merdoch hand picked executive editors! What scares me more however is the publics unquestioning acceptance of these poorly researched drug scare stories, simply giving them shortcuts to thinking and allowing them to fob off any serious drug issue as just another attempt to allow the "evil drug menace" into their pristine secure suburbs! Fuck the media I say! (SBS news is ok thou)

p.s johnny boy keep up the good fight, you give a voice to rationality in the face of un-questioning stupidity!

And that my friends is what really grinds my gears!

 

[LoveDuck]

The drug in recent times has gained a reputation as being relatively harmless despite the death of schoolgirl Anna Wood more than a decade ago.

yup. more than a decade ago....

 

[Rosencavelier]

So, ecstasy causes one death a fortnight?

Threads merged. hoptis

So, ecstasy causes one death a fortnight(2) in Australia?

Out of 475,000 users(1) this is a mortality rate of 5.5 per 100,000 users. Prescription medicines are responsible for 3000 deaths per year, out of approx 13.8 million users (2). This is a mortality rate of 22 per 100,000 users.

This supposedly dangerous drug is four times less likely to kill you than prescription medications. Imagine how safe it would be if it were manufactured by pharmaceutical companies rather than by criminals in backyard labs, and if users were educated about responsible use.

To put this in perspective, alcohol causes 3,113 deaths per year out of a total 12.9 million drinkers (3). This is a mortality rate of 24 per 100,000 users. This is almost 5 times the mortality of ecstasy use.


References:
1) National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2001 (2.9% of population 14 years and over (2005 ABS Population 14 years and over = 16,389,918) used in last 12 months) = ~475,000

2) The Advertiser 19/06/06 (69% of population use prescription medicine (ABS 2006 ~20.5 million total pop) = ~1.8 million. (Ecstasy causes over 1 death a fortnight.) = ~ 26 per year

3) www.alcohol.gov.au/pdf/nas_2006_2009.pdf (1.3 million consume alcohol daily, 6.2 million weekly, 5.4 million less than weekly)(1992-2001: 16,756 deaths from acute conditions due to drinking + 14,377 from chronic conditions due to drinking = 31,113 deaths = ~3,113 deaths per year).


As you can see, I have mixed and matched stats (ie: population in 2005, but NDSH 2001), but it's good enough for me

 

[rolls]

Sounds good but both those statistics are probably incorrect. Alot of the time people that die from E have been racking meth/speed and a whole lot of other drugs at the same time and die from complications of mixing so many different drugs. Some people will take e and don't drink any water and dance for 12 hours but you could do this with no drugs and probably still die of hyperthermia/dehydration.

Where did they get the 475k user base from? something like that would be very hard to guage. Same with the prescription drugs, not everyone out of the 13.8 million would take a certain drug and vice versa. Some would obviously have higher mortality rates then others and may have a very small user base.

However I do agree with your view on how much safer it would be if MDMA was made in a lab and properly dosed. The thing is, it isn't and wont ever be. If it was made publically legal too many people would just go overboard and take it every weekend and it would end up being socially acceptable like alcohol. I'd hate to see how many people would end up with extremely bad depression and anxiety disorders after doing this for 10 years.

Something that I know would never happen is say the government lab controlled and made the drugs and the dealers "somehow" got their hands on them. We would have proper dosing, some of the money would go back to the government and not dirty drug lords and it would still be illegal forcing a much smaller user base to use and ABUSE the drug (not everyone does but too many people do).

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[chugs]

how can you compare MDMA with prescription meds?

Does MDMA stop you from having heart attacks or stop a liver transplant from rejecting?

If MDMA saved people's lives, and there were tangible statistics to back that up them by all means compare it with life-saving medications.

That said comparing it to alcohol is far more realistic.....

 

[Rosencavelier]

rolls:
The 475k users is from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2001. I realise that determining a genuine number of users is incredibly difficult, but I figured that this would be at least a good rough estimate

chugs:
This exercise is not trying to compare the beneficial effects or detrimental side effects (other than death) at all. I'm simply trying to show how unfounded peoples fear and hatred of this drug is - by comparing it to things that people generally assume are very safe.
I know it isn't particularly scientific to group ALL prescription medications into one basket, but the only data I had quickly at hand was that published by The Advertiser 19/06/06.
I'm also trying to generate discussion