Pubdate: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66 Author: Stephane Massinon TAINTED ECSTASY TIE TO SIXTH DEATH PROBED A toxic chemical that has been connected to a spate of ecstasy overdoses has been found in yet another deceased person, this time four months earlier than the previously reported deaths. The case brings the death toll to six being investigated by police, who are now also rethinking how best to address drug education with youngsters. Police revealed Friday that a 43-year-old man was found dead in a northeast home in July 2011. Toxicology test results given to police this month indicate he had paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) in his system when he died of a drug overdose. "What happened was the medical examiner's office searched their database for other cases that involved PMMA and that identified the July case," said Alberta Justice spokeswoman Julie Siddons. "They did not rerun any of the toxicology tests. PMMA is actually among the toxins that are screened for in Alberta. That particular case was an isolated case and we didn't see it again for four months," Siddons said. Police are also awaiting the toxicology results of another Calgary case and one more from a Nanton man who died following a suspected overdose, which, if confirmed, would raise the total to eight cases in Calgary and area. British Columbia has reported five cases of PMMA-tainted ecstasy deaths. Police also say that all PMMA samples in the six cases were traced back to PMMA powder, which can be ingested in powder, pill or capsule form. Investigators are trying to determine how and if the cases here and in B.C. are linked and say they are getting good tips from the public to help the investigation. "We also are receiving significant information from the public that should sustain us and there are a bunch of leads we are following up on," said drug unit Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley. While the drug unit tries to determine who made and sold the lethal drugs, police say they are also now rethinking how best to educate young people about street drugs. "Neither traditional messaging nor traditional delivery methods are proving effective, so we are looking at alternative ways to teach kids about drugs," said Calgary police youth services unit Staff Sgt. Frank Cattoni. "We recognize that traditional 'just say no' messaging, when it comes to drug education, just isn't effective. We need to empower youth to recognize the influencing factors on their decisions and learn what they know." A new poster campaign is being unveiled and they are starting to appear in Calgary schools. A social media campaign will follow, aimed at youth and parents. The goal is to get the message across that it's impossible to know all ingredients in drugs made in secret labs by criminals. "Regardless of the street narcotic that they may be ingesting, they just don't know what's in that street narcotic and they're effectively playing Russian roulette when they ingest drugs," said Cattoni. PMMA is cheaper than ecstasy (MDMA) and is cut into ecstasy for additional profit. PMMA is thought to be five times more toxic than MDMA and its effects can take longer to set in, and therefore users will sometimes take more. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt