News:Drug link feared in nightclub collapse

[Mr Giggles]

Drug link feared in nightclub collapse
By Ben Doherty
Tuesday, 20 July 2004

Illicit drug use may be linked to the deaths of two Canberra men on Sunday, one of whom collapsed in a popular Manuka nightclub.

In unrelated incidents, the two men died within hours of each other early on Sunday.

It appears both may have been affected by drugs at the time.

Post-mortem examinations, to be conducted this week, will include toxicology tests to detect drugs, police said yesterday.

About 4am Sunday, police were called to Minque nightclub in Manuka after a 33-year-old Jerrabomberra man collapsed.

The man was standing away from the dance floor, near a seating area, when he fell without warning.

It is understood the man had taken a tablet, believed to be ecstasy, earlier in the night.

There is no evidence the tablet was obtained or ingested at the club.

It is unclear whether the man had arrived at the club alone or with friends, but he was unaccompanied when he collapsed.

Manager of Minque Simon Chalmers said an ambulance had been called immediately, and the man had been placed in a recovery position.

Mr Chalmers also made the decision to close the nightclub.

Ambulance officers attempted to revive the man, who had been taken to a waiting ambulance, but he died before he could be transferred to Canberra Hospital.

About two hours before the incident at Minque, police were called to a house in Dixon Drive, Holder, where an injured 21-year-old man was found lying in a driveway.

Police were called to the street after residents reported hearing breaking glass.

Residents told The Canberra Times yesterday the man was using a screwdriver to break into a car parked in a driveway when he was disturbed by a dog at the house.

It is understood the man fled, taking a wallet and money, but fell as he ran past a driveway two doors down.

Police found the man sprawled unconscious on the driveway.

Police and ambulance officers worked to revive him but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Canberra Hospital. The exact cause of his death is not yet known.

Article Here

 

[Dvah]

You have to love how they plant the ideas in peoples minds that drugs were the cause of death in both cases, before there has been an autopsy or toxicology test done.
These men could have died from a heart attack for all they know.

It all seems abit presumptuous to me.

 

[keystroke]

it'll be pretty upsetting if both cases were from taking bunk pills - that'll mean we've got some shit floating around.

make sure you test your gear guys, just to be safe.

buy a testing kit here http://www.enlighten-hr.org/buy.php

 

[ld50 vs ssri]

I would of thought if it was pills they would have been adultrated rather then bunk having said that im sick of the media blaming substance for the cause of peoples deaths before they have even carried out autopsys or tests there is too many factors to look at from the information they have provided.

 

[Doodle]

^ Especially the second case. How they end up connecting both these deaths to drug related deaths is beyond me. There is no mention of drugs at all in the second case.

 

[UnSquare]

Feared By Whom?

What a bizarre article.
I mean I write alotta
bunk shit on Bluelight
but who, what....??

Man, that article's just weird.

 

[keystroke]

I reckon it was the whole idea of he was trying to steal stuff and break into cars.

we all know every BL'r breaks into cars and steals stuff to fuel their relentless ecstasy habits.

 

[lost_boi]

at least its only in canberra!

no really, articles like this do nothing in providng any information other than, said person died in said vicinity for reasons unknown.

but its gotta be drugs people. gotta be those terrible drugs again.

 

[nickthecheese]

at least its only in canberra!

the people actually living here thank you for that

But seriously, holy crap! Death in our Nations Capital*, interesting stuff....

*disclamer: nations capital may be nothing more than a sterile oversized country town

 

[Nat]

has anyone seen the hairsuts of 70% of the patrons who go to Minque, omg they are atrocius. But in saying that, no matter how bad your harstyle is you dont deserve to die. I wonder if we will get results of the tox. report to see what it was that he took (if it was that anyway)

 

[Psychadelic_Paisly]

^^^^ I thought is was all about the music

 

[lost_boi]

nickthecheese:

dude, relax. obviously sarcasm at its worst. sorry man. my bad!

 

[BigTrancer]

ROFL Nat

 

[Deformed_Neuron]

Hmmm... after reading that article, it made me think of something. Now I don't have a vast knowledge of corpses or Necromancy or whatever you want to consider it.
But here from the article it reads:- "Post-mortem examinations, to be conducted this week, will include toxicology tests to detect drugs, police said yesterday."

Now the question to you is this... How long would it take (if at all) for the drug to be totally eliminated from the corpse?Or do the traces of the drug just "hang in there" and stagnate due to the fact the corpse (or we'd hope not) would not be moving about and releasing certain defensive mechanisms to help elimate the drug?? So does the drug stay in the body for the Post Mortem. Or does it take a reeallly long time for it to be broken down, because the corpse wouldn't be urinating, etc...??

Sorry if this is kinda off-topic, but... it is relevant to the topic at hand. And... if the drug would be eliminated, wouldn't those Post Mortem guys wanna hurry it up so we can know exactly what did kill these poor blokes?

 

[superbabydoc]

Once your body is dead, it can't metabolise drugs anymore, so some level of the offending drug will remain in the short term. The body would have to be stored properly to allow for testing of metabolite levels post mortem. As I understand it, different organs of the body will have different levels of the given drug. This is due to "post mortem distribution". And some drugs are metabolised very quickly, like cocaine, so I imagine this would make post mortem testing pretty difficult.

Say in this case it's MDMA, then the pathologist will be able to test for the amount of MDMA metbaolites in the peripheral (ie: an arm or leg) blood (which according to this article is the recommended place to test for levels).
CASE REPORT: Distribution Study of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and 3,4-Methylenedioxy-amphetamine in a Fatal Overdose
Testing for levels from one place only (ie:blood) means you can compare results with other post mortems to get an idea of the amount of MDMA the person might have taken.