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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom