Pubdate: Thu, 14 Sep 2000
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada
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Comment: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor; headline by newshawk
Author: Rachel Evans

RAVERS AGREE IT'S BEST TO TEST

Impure Ecstasy Concern For Some Users

Ecstasy tablets should be tested for pollutants, local ravers say, as horror stories emerge about the drug being cut with relatively more dangerous substances.

News of a California lab finding angel dust (PCP), cocaine, ketamine (animal tranquillizer) and speed in the drug sold to dancers, and city cops confirming the dangerous trend seems to be catching on here, has rave enthusiasts asking for more portable testing kits.

"I think it's a good idea because kids are going to do drugs regardless," said Nick, 19, adding he heard of ketamine and speed being found in ecstasy. "I've definitely heard about those things. They've been going on for a long time."

Rave-goer Cedomil Gonzalez, 24, fears the trend too.

"It's getting cut up with all these different things. It's totally dangerous to do."

They agreed portable test kits to determine what else is in ecstasy would help people make better decisions.

"If something bad's in it, maybe they'll have the sense not to do it," Nick said.

That's the idea, said Mike Peebles, a member of Edmonton RaveSafe, which has sold about 20 testing kits recently.

He also thinks city police have a responsibility to alert the public if they find anything other than ecstasy in pills they test.

"We would consider that to be a public health issue, a safety issue," he said, adding his organization asked police to release results of pills they may have tested.

"The blood would be on their hands if they knew about that and somebody took it and died."

City police said there's a prohibitive cost involved in testing all drugs seized, and Alberta Health said it didn't have enough evidence to show it's a great public health problem.
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