Pubdate: Tue, 08 Jul 2008
Source: Irish News, The (UK)
Copyright: 2008 The Irish News
Contact:  http://www.irishnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4682
Author: Seanin Graham
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

DEATH TOLL OF LETHAL DRUG

AT least four people in Northern Ireland have died after taking 
ecstasy in the last year.

Gordon Neil (26), from Armagh, died after taking four ecstasy tablets 
at a house party last October.

A day earlier Ballykelly teenager Danielle Gibbens suffered a fatal 
heart attack that was linked to the Class A drug.

Two people in their twenties from the Belfast area have also died.

Ecstasy, officially known by its chemical abbreviation MDMA, produces 
both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.

The drug can bring its users feelings of extreme euphoria and 
physical pleasure.

However, its short-term side-effects are alarming - ecstasy 
interferes with the brain's essential chemical functions, causing 
hypothermia, dehydration or heat stroke.

High blood pressure, blurred vision, faintness and panic attacks can 
also be caused. In severe cases, people have died from seizures and 
strokes, as well as cardiovascular and kidney failure.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a study on 
monkeys showed that exposure to MDMA twice a day for four straight 
days caused brain damage that is evident six to seven years later.

Prices of the drug have fallen dramatically in recent years, to as 
little as 50p.

Dr Cathal Cassidy, a consultant in addiction psychiatry at St Luke's 
hospital in Armagh, warned of the emergence of a reckless form of 
drug taking, especially among young men.

He said some patients treated in the hospital's inpatient unit had 
taken up to 12 ecstasy tablets mixed with cocaine, alcohol and benzos 
in one weekend.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom