Pubdate: Mon, 15 May 2000
Source: Illawarra Mercury (Australia)
Copyright: 2000 Illawarra Newspapers
Contact:  http://mercury.illnews.com.au/

PMA KILLED PARTY-GOER

Police have warned against the dangers of illegal amphetamines and
ecstasy after it was revealed a man who died at a rave party near
Appin was the first NSW victim of the killer drug PMA.

A coroner's report said the 26-year-old Ryde man, who died at the
Happy Valley Full Moon Dance Party held at Cataract Scout Park in
February, had taken PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine), and not ecstasy, as
suspected.

Deputy State Coroner Jan Stevenson confirmed the man had a large
amount of the drug in his body when he died.

Drug expert and former Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia
chief executive David Crosbie said yesterday PMA was more deadly than
ecstasy.

PMA, which had taken three lives in Western Australia since September
and six in South Australia, usually was passed off as ecstasy.

Crime Agencies Superintendent Ken McKay said police would not tolerate
the distribution and manufacture of illegal amphetamines and other
substances, and would continue to target those producing them.

The amphetamine-based drugs were being produced by backyard chemists
and the consequences were potentially lethal for consumers, he said.

The drugs, often readily available at dance parties, were usually a
combination of a number of substances and carried potentially deadly
health risks.

"People buy these drugs thinking they are amphetamines or ecstasy but
they can be a mixture of several substances that have unknown
effects," Mr McKay said.

The stimulant PMA was more dangerous than ecstasy, Mr Crosbie said,
because users experienced significant toxicology problems that could
prove lethal.

It had similar effects to speed, ecstasy and, to a certain degree,
cocaine, but had a slightly different chemical make-up than the
amphetamine in ecstasy.

"There's a fair chance that on any given day if you're buying what you
think is ecstasy you could be buying some other sort of amphetamine
that has similar effects but may be more toxic - and that's the case
with this drug," he said.

Adverse effects included heat cramps in the arms, legs and back,
giddiness, extreme fatigue, headaches and an inability to urinate.

"They're all symptoms that something is going wrong with what they
thought was ecstasy," Mr Crosbie said.

"In this case, immediately take a break and try and cool down. But the
best treatment, if people feel they've taken something and it's not
working like ecstasy, is to try and vomit as soon as possible."
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