Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jan 2012
Source: Alberni Valley Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Alberni Valley Times
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouverisland/albernivalleytimes/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4043
Author: Jules Xavier
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

INCREASE IN DRUG DEATHS CONCERN

Parents need to be vigilant when it comes to their teenagers and the 
availability of a potentially deadly street drug that has claimed the 
lives of five people in the last six months.

"Ecstasy is manufactured by criminals," said Port Alberni RCMP Cpl. 
Jen Allan. "And let's face it, they are not using organic substances. 
We have seen samples come back from the lab that contain corrosive 
and toxic components such as comet cleaner and rat poison. Our kids 
continue to buy it, which is shocking really."

The B.C. Coroners Service confirms that paramethoxy-metamphetamine 
has been linked to the five recent ecstasy-related deaths in B.C. 
Three of the dead were from the Lower Mainland, while the other two 
were from Vancouver Island.

While ecstasy use hasn't spiked in Port Alberni, according to Allan, 
the recent deaths have local RCMP concerned with any amount of use.

According to B.C.'s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe, while the presence 
of PMMA was detected, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or ecstasy, and 
other substances were also present.

Three of the deceased were men between 14 and 37, while the two 
female victims were between 17 and 22.

"PMMA is a rare drug, and one which has not been routinely tested for 
in B.C. coroners' investigations," Lapointe said. "Following 
information from Alberta where PMMA was detected in relation to 
several deaths and two 2012 deaths, PMMA was found in five cases."

Lapointe concurred with Allan when it came to the purity of a drug 
that is concocted for profit in a clandestine environment.

"Every ingestion of ecstasy is a risk," Lapointe said.

Ingredients in ecstasy are a mix of harmful additives such as 
cornstarch, soaps and detergents, or other drugs like caffeine, 
ephedrine, LSD, PCP, ketamine or methamphetamine.

"Parents need to do everything they can to keep the lines of 
communication open with their kids so they can initiate discussions 
about the extreme risks they face when they take a drug like 
ecstasy," Allan said.

 From 2006 to 2011 there have been 85 deaths in B.C. that ecstasy was 
relevant in the cause of death.

"Read your children the tragic stories about those who have gambled 
and lost," Allan said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom